Everyone Makes Mistakes Part 2-5: Lars Miserables
by Scraps the Fool
Summary: Set during the events of A Girl and Her Lion, find out what happened to the residents of Beach City and the mysterious group known as G.E.R.M.
1. The Day

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: HikumiRin

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 1: The Day the City Stood Still

Author Note: The events in this story take place around the time of "A Girl and Her Lion."

**Big Donut, present day**

[*]

Quiet, that is what it is like to work a night shift, especially if you work at a place called "The Big Donut. There is barely a soul that walks in, especially after the whole tragedy that happened four months ago. Inside the shop, there is a young girl at the counter, sitting at a bench. Playing with her cell phone. This is Sadie; she is an employee at the Big Donut alongside her friend Lars, who now, is in the break room taking a nap. The two of them have an interesting relationship, with Sadie being the hard worker while Lars is the slacker. However, despite their differences and conflicts. The two manage to get along and during many times, they have had each other's backs. Some of the times, they managed to express feelings for each other. However, that can be discussed at a different time.

Sadie continued to play Irritated Avions on her phone as she leaned on the cash register. As she used her finger to shoot the feathered assailants at the blocks. She heard the sound of the door opening and the bell ring. As Sadie looked up, there was a hooded girl before the counter. Said put her phone away as she straightened herself up.

"Hello, welcome to the Big Donut, how can I help you?" Sadie said to the girl before her

The girl then removed her hood, revealing pail white skin, grey hair, and blue eyes which were black shot. The sight unnerved Sadie, who felt a chill in the air.

"Yes, I was wondering where your leader is?" the girl said as she looked at the menu of donuts above Sadie.

"Well, my boss is out of town." Sadie replied with a nervous chuckle. "But even then, he isn't around much."

"Is that so?" the girl replied as she looked to Sadie. "Then what about the human named Dewey, does he reside in this…city?"

Sadie hesitated as she glanced at the grey haired woman. "Yeah…he is our mayor. Just what do you want from him?"

The woman smiled as she turned back to the door. "Thank you for your services human. I look forward to seeing them in a much more…productive area."

As the woman left, Sadie sat back at the register chair, wondering what she meant by that. Suddenly, her thoughts were cut short by the sound of yawning and a tall teenager emerging from the back room. It was Lars, the slacker.

"Sadie…" Lars yawned as he stretched his arms. "Is it closing time yet?"

"Lars…" Sadie said, ignoring Lars's question. "I saw the strangest thing just now. It was a woman, but with grey hair, and black eyes. I think…it might have something to do with…"

"Oh please." Lars said as he walked over to the counter and poured a cup of coffee. "You'r starting to sound like Ronaldo. Come on Sadie, it has been four months now. Sure, I miss him but at least I'm not going to obsess over it and thing that the "Space Illuminati" is behind it." Lars then pointed to his chest with his thumb as he gave a smug expression "Unlike some people, I am the Unbreakable."

"Okay Mr. Unbreakable." Sadie said teasingly. "Then you can do the daunting task of taking out the trash."

Lars gave Sadie a big puppy dog look before Sadie raised him one look of disappointment.

"Now Lars." Sadie commanded.

"Fine…" Lars muttered as he stormed into the back room.

[*]

**The Big Donut, Exterior, present day**

[*]

Lars took the large cart of trash and began throwing it into the compactor that was behind the store. The bags were big a heavy to move. Not to mention that it was very cold and dark. Lars continued to throw trash into the compactor, having to compact it with every bag, he also at time had to manually compress the bags with a metal rod if they were stuck. It was disgusting, tedious and long work, and Lars hated every minute of it.

"Lousy trash compactor, why couldn't they build it on the inside?" Lars muttered to himself as he shivered. "The one day when it's not sunny and warm is when I am give the grossest job here, what a life."

Suddenly, Lars heard a noise from the other side of the building. The sound made the teen jump as he looked to the direction of the sound.

"Sadie?" Lars gulped. "Is that you?"

Lars grabbed the compression rod and held it like a weapon as he approached the side of the building. As he quickly pounced out to it, there was no one there. Lars sighed with relief as he lowered his weapon and proceeded back to the compactor.

"Sadie, if this is some joke for calling you crazy, then yo-"

Lars was silenced by the presence of a large Grey figure examining the trash and compactor. It was rather tall and has four lenses on each side of its rectangular head. Lars could see that the figure was hovering and it had two large metal horn like rods on its head that sparked with energy.

"What the..." Lars whispered as he watched the being examine the trash, accidentally dropping the rod in his hand to the ground, which made a audible thump.

As he did, the machine then turned to his direction. In an instant, it dashed over to the teen and towered over him. Lars screamed as he quickly picked up the compression rod and swung it at the being, only for it to break upon contact. Lars then fell to his knees and began to pray to the being.

"Please oh great Space Illuminati." Lars pleaded to the grey being before him sobbing like a small child. "Please don't eat me! Take Sadie instead, she has more meat on her bones."

The being then emitted a pale blue fan shaped light as it passed through Lars. The light then retracted and the being then responded.

"[IDENTIFIED…ORGANIC…PLANET STATUS: NATIVE…INTELLIGENCE: INADEQUATE…THREAT LEVEL: MINOR]"

Lars looked to his captor and smiled. "Does this mean I am going to live?"

The being looked down to Lars as it shifted lenses, wiping the smile from Lars's face .

"[ORGANIC…THERE IS A CRIMINAL IN THIS LOCATION…IDENTIFIED AS: CONNIE MAHESWARAN…CHARGED WITH: THEFT AND HIGH TREASON…IDENTIFY THE LOCATION OF SAID CRIMINAL.]"

Lars gulped as he remembered seeing Connie walking past the store earlier in the day, and even before then, he remembered her coming into the store time after time. Talking with Sadie and hanging out with her and Lars. It was actually thanks to her that he and Sadie were able to be so…passionate. As he thought this carefully, he was brought back to reality when the being spoke again.

"[ORGANIC…THIS UNIT IS INFORMED TO REMIND YOU THAT FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH AN AGATE CIVIL PROTECTOR IS PUNISHABLE WITH: TERMINATION.]"

"Wait…wait!" Lars shouted as he waved his hands at the Agate. "I know where she is, I can lead her to you. Just, no termination, okay Aggy…can I call you Aggy?"

The silent response from the

"[ORGANIC…YOUR SERVICE TO MASTER DIAMOND WILL BE NOTED DEPENDING ON RESULT OF YOUR COOPERATION…HOWEVER; THIS ORGANIC MUST INFORM YOU THAT THE DISTRIBUTION OF FALSE INFORMATION OR INTENTIONAL MISLEADING OF AN AGATE CIVIL PROTECTOR IS PUNISHABLE BY: TERMINATION...ALSO, THIS UNIT FINDS THE TITLE "AGGY" ACCEPTABLE.]

Lars gulped as he began walking away from the Agate. "Okay then...R-r-right this w-w-way."

As Lars escorted the Agate through the city, he turned back to the Big Donut and could see Sadie through the window. She was standing behind the counter, looking rather anxious as two Agate drones stood before her. He then saw her look to him and gave an expression of shock before she looked to the Agates.

[*]

**Beach City Streets, present day,**

Lars continued to march the Agate through the cold streets of the city. Not a soul present except for Lars and the Agate behind him. As Lars led the machine through the streets, he looked back to the Agate behind him.

"So...what did Connie steal from you guys?" Lars asked nervously. "I figured it has something to do with that Gem of hers. Or was it Steven? I knew that kid was trouble."

"[THAT INFORMATION IS CLASSIFIED…ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CLASSIFIED FILES WILL LEAD TO INDOCTRINATION AND/OR TERMINATION.]"

"G-g-good to know." Lars shuddered as he approached Connie house. "Well this is the place, and don't worry, I have been here a couple times with Sadie, So I know it's legit."

The Agate approached the doorway and looked around at the house. After a few seconds, the lens of the Agate switched from blue to yellow.

"[CONTACTING ALL AGATE UNITS…THE GEM THIEF HAS BEEN LOCATED…BEGIN PROTOCOL 1-4-3 UPON CAPTURE OF GEM.]"

"Hey what about me?" Lars said to the Agate. "Does this mean I am off the hook?"

The Agate then turned back to Lars and approached him. Lars flinched as he felt the Agate ruffle his hair. Lars looked in confusion at this action.

"[THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION ORGANIC…PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR DOMICILE AND WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTION.]"

Lars nodded as he backed away slowly. He then turned around and began to dash away from the Agate, when he looked back, he saw two more Agates fly in behind the first one. Lars then proceeded to sprint all the way back to the big Donut.

[*]

**The Big Donut, present day**

[*]

Sadie paced nervously, worried about what happened to Lars and where they were taking him. However, her answer came through the door in the form of a heaving teenager.

"Lars!" Sadie shouted in relief as she grabbed Lars into a hug. "Your okay, what happened back there? What did you do?"

Lars broke the hug as he began to close the blinds to the windows. "I didn't do anything…this time. That "Agate"…thing wanted to know where Connie lived. So I took him over there."

Sadie eyes widened at what she just heard "Lars! What the hell?" Sadie shouted as she smacked Lars in the arm.

"Ow! Lars replied as he rubbed his arm. "Hey, I'm not the bad guy, did those Agate guys tell you that Connie was a criminal? She had stolen stole something that belonged to them."

Sadie approached Lars and sat on one of the guest chairs. "No they didn't. However, they did ask me for the location of any gems in the area."

"Well what did you tell them?" Lars said as he sat down on the chair across from Sadie. "You told them about those Gems with the Temple, right?"

Sadie nodded as she peeked through the blinds. "Yeah, but I don't think-"

"Good, those Gems are nothing but trouble." Lars interrupted as he leaned back in the chair. "It was bad enough that one of them killed Smiley. Well...with the fact that my dad runs Funland, it's more of a blessing in disguise."

Just then, the duo saw Ronaldo burst though the door with a camera in hand. Lars and Sadie jumped back as he quickly ran into the back room. As the two looked at each other, they head screaming and shouting. The duo peeked through the blinds as they saw the residents of Beach City running through the streets. Lars then noticed Agates flying through the sky.

"Lars, there...there attacking the city." Sadie said as she watched an Agate snatch a man off the streets like a hawk.

Without a word, Lars grabbed Sadie and rushed them into the back room. The two then looked around and began to grab all the boxes, they could pick up and prop them against the door. As they did, they all were startled by the sudden loss of power, leaving the two of them in darkness. The only exception to this was Ronaldo, who sat in the corner of the room. He was staring into his camera as the light shined on his face and as tears and snot poured down his face, making him look like a dribble nosed women from an indie horror film.

"To anyone who sees this, this is Ronaldo Fryman, creator and founder of Keep Beach City Weird. I had discussed time after time about the Diamond conspiracy, about how the Gem people from space are planning to take over the earth. Well just a few moments ago, a swarm of robots attacked the city, I heard them talking about a Master Diamond before they attacked. I was lucky to get out alive but I am now barricaded in this building along with my friends Lars and Sadie, people who work at the Big Donut."

Lars shushed Ronaldo as he heard a crash from the other side of the room. As he and Sadie looked through the trays of donuts, they saw three Agates enter the shop, one from the door and two through the now broken windows.

"[SEARCH FOR ALL ORGANICS IN THE VICINITY… DO NOT TERMINATE UNLESS IT IS NECESSARY…THIS UNIT WILL SEARCH THIS FACILITY.]"

As two of the three exited the building and flew away, the remaining Agate turned around and approached the counter. Lars watched as it looked at the counter and then the small bell on the table. The Agate then raised its hand and gently tapped the bell, making a ringing noise.

"[ATTENTION…THIS UNIT REQUIRES SUSTENANCE IN THE FORM OF FRIED WHEAT PASTE AND SUGAR…WITH OPTIONAL FLAVORING OF SPICES AND RIPENED PLANT OVARY EXTRACT...PLEASE APPROACH THE COUNTER AT ONCE…FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS UNIT WILL RESULT IN: DISSATISFACTION WITH SERVICE WHICH MAY RESULT IN: DEMOTION OF COMMAND, REDUCTION IN COMPENSATION OF LABOR, AND/OR POSSIBLE DISCHARGE FROM EMPLOYED SERVICES.]"

"Was that…it's trying to pretend to be a customer in order to lure us out." Sadie whispered to Lars as she stared at the Agate. "…and it's doing a bad job at it, a really bad job."

"Man, I've made excuses not to go to work that were better than that." Lars whispered to Sadie.

As Sadie and Lars kept watch, Ronaldo continued to panic. The camera shook in his hands as he continued speaking to it.

"I just want to apologize to Jami's mom, Jenny's mom, and my mom. And I'm sorry to everyone. I was very naive. I am so so sorry for everything that has happened. Because in spite of what Jamie says now, it is my fault. Because it was, my project and I insisted. I insisted on everything. I insisted that there was a Diamond conspiracy. I insisted that we keep investigating. I insisted that we interact with those Gems and fought to find the truth. Everything had to be my way. And this is where we've ended up and it's all because of me that we're here now, in the dark, cold, and hunted. I love you dad, Peedee. I am so sorry."

"Ronaldo, shut up!" Sadie shouted to Ronaldo in a hushed tone, rushing over to the panicking teen and grabbing his shirt. "You're going to give away our cover, and then we really will be in trouble."

"It's gone." Lars said as he saw the Agate rush out the entrance and into the sky. Suddenly, the trio heard a large explosion as they saw a large black van dash past the enterance. A whole swarm of Agates dashing past the store followed this. Lars and Sadie could hear the sound of them passing by like jets.

"What is that? I'm scared to close my eyes, I'm scared to open them! We're gonna die in here!" Ronaldo panicked as he rushed up next to Sadie. "Save me!"

Sadie then grabbed Ronaldo and slapped him across the face. Causing the nerdy teen to grab his face and cry sofly.

"Get a grip on yourself Ronaldo!" Sadie exclaimed to Ronaldo, suddenly remembering a story that Steven told her about him a while back. "Hey, remember when you fought the snake people and nearly beat them?"

Ronaldo sniffled as he looked to Sadie. "Y-yeah?"

"Steven told me how you were so brave, using your physic powers to force the…sneople into submission."

"Sadie, that's no-" Lars interjected, only to be interrupted with an elbow to the stomach from Sadie.

"Your right…You are right!" Ronaldo said as he regained his confidence. "I should not be scared of a few tin solders, I faced things worst them those."

"Yeah!" Sadie said supportively.

"Fuck me." Lars muttered as he rubbed his eyes with his hand in irritation. "This isn't going to work, there are only three of us and a…god know how many of them!"

Suddenly, there was an even bigger sound of rumbling as they felt the ground shake below them. As the three looked through the donut racks, they saw the outside was brighter, as chunks of metal and parts of Agates fell to the ground. It seemed that there was a large explosion, larger than the last one. Almost like a bomb of sorts.

"What is going on out there?" Lars said as he tried to get a better view.

"It's a sign!" Ronaldo shouted as he pumped his fists in excitement. "The people are fighting back! There is hope for us after all!"

Ronaldo then reached into his pants and pulled out a revolver. This sight shocked Lars and Sadie.

Ronaldo! Where the hell did you get a gun?" Sadie asked the armed teenager. "More importantly, do you know how to use that thing?"

Ignoring Sadie, Ronaldo pushed her and Lars aside as he pushed through the racks of doughnuts. Noticing a lone long john on his shoulder, he took it off his shoulder and bit into it before dropping it to the floor. He then proceeded to walk out the building.

Sadie and Lars watched with disbelief at what just happened, Sadie then ran over to the back of the room and opened a long box, inside was a case that read "In case of Gem related incidents only! Sadie then pulled out her wooden spear, the very one she used when she was trapped on that Gem island many years ago, only the tip was plated with metal and it had a wrapped grip with a yellow gem attached to it. She then pulled out several vials of Fire salt, a warp whistle, a small canister with a cross on it what was filled with of an light blue paste, and a small rose-colored amulet. As she attached the items to herself. She looked to Lars and handed him a short sword before walking towards the exit of the shop.

"Sadie! This is crazy!" Lars shouted as he chased after Sadie. "This isn't going to work; did you see the swarm going after that van? Who knows how many are out there?"

Sadie the turned to Lars and glared at him. "I'm not asking you to come along, but Ronaldo is going to hurt himself, and if anyone is going out there, they need to be with someone who has had experiences with fighting monsters."

Lars sighed as he watched her leave the big Doughnut. "Since when did you become so good at fighting monsters?"

"Since I killed several of them myself, player two!" Sadie shouted as she left the sight of Lars.

Lars looked around at the shop, and then to his sword, and then to the entrance. Groaning in frustration. The young man then rushed over and finally caught up with Sadie, who was alongside Ronaldo as he was examining a large scorched crater.

"Hmmm…" Ronaldo said as he brought up his camera. "We can see there that a large explosive was used to deal with the robots."

As Ronaldo continued to examine the area. Sadie and Lars looked around as well. The whole area was desolate. Not a single person was around. It was so quiet; Sadie could hear her heart race. Suddenly, the three heard a noise and saw a lone Agate hover into view.

Eventually, the three began to walk through the streets. Armed for any sign of an attack. After some time, they approached the outskirts of the temple, Sadie noticed that many of the Agates were gathered around the exterior of the temple. She then noticed a woman standing before them. Her air was grey, her skin was white as chalk, and her eyes were as back as the night sky. Sadie recognized her as the woman that entered the shop several hours ago. She was alongside another Gem, who Sadie knew as one that was with Steven.

"Lars!" Sadie whispered to Lars. "It's her; it's the woman I told you about!"

"Wow!" Lars said as a grin rolled on his face. "I know that she wants to kill us but, HOT a What Baabhabhiat!"

Sadie punched Lars's arm, causing him to wince and rub it.

"Hey, don't blame me for being honest." Lars said defensively as he glared at Sadie.

"Look something is happening!" Ronaldo whispered as he pointed to the commotion before them.

The three watched as a portal suddenly opened before the two Gems and their Agate army. From this portal, a tall figure emerged. His appearance looked much like Pearl, but he had silver hair and a silver beard. He also wore a light blue suit and had a clear Gem on his right shoulder. As he appeared, the two Gems before him bowed while the Agates saluted.

"I think that's the leader." Sadie whispered to Lars and Ronaldo. "He must be Master Diamond."

"I was right!" Ronaldo gasped as he looked to his hands. "Master Diamond is the one behind this, hence why it's called the Diamond Conspiracy. It's his conspiracy!"

Sadie and Lars looked to each other in shock. Not just about the idea that the Gems are planning to take over the earth, but more on the fact that Ronaldo, the crackpot of Beach City, was right all along.

[*]

**Crystal Temple exterior, present day**

[*]

Pearl and Zirconia stood there alongside the Agates. A few moments ago, the two of them lead a invasion to capture Connie, who had the crystal of Rose Quartz. However, as they caught her, Garnet and Amethyst were able to ambush them and rescue her. Using light cannon to destroy a large portion of their army. Zirconia and Pearl were now waiting for their master to return anxious about his reaction to such a failure.

"You should have dealt with your comrades." Zirconia hissed to the Gem beside her. "You knew them inside and out. It would have been no challenge."

"You forget, daughter, that even if I know everything about them, they can still have an advantage." Pearl replied. "Besides, I am not the one who will be punished, I didn't lead the mission, you did."

Zirconia growled at Pearl, but before she could respond, a portal opened before the two. As the Gems directed their attention to the portal, they kneeled as a tall being emerged. It was Master Diamond, leader of the Crystal Gems and the Gemain God of Order. As soon as he looked down to the Gems before him, they began to chant.

"_Vos ego appello Dominum __Anancites__ ipsum Obsidiani, Crystallus primogenitus matrem suam formam prætulit fortitudo et, et divinum Cristallum Imperij omnipotentis loquentis. Evigilabit ex dormitione tuaita ut, __V__estibulum, atque hereditate tuam discipulus, ut tibiquod petis. Vitae__._"

Diamond then watched as they rose from the ground. Waiting to hear the report of their mission.

"Well…" Diamond said coldly as he glared at Pearl and Zirconia. "What have you brought me? Is the Furem captured?"

Zirconia and Pearl looked to each other before Zirconia replied. "Not exactly Master, we had her, and then she…got away."

Diamond walked up to Zirconia and gently placed his hand on the back of her neck. After looking into her eyes for a few moments, he clenched his grip and brought her down onto the ground before him. Zirconia struggled as Diamond held her down.

"How did she escape?" Diamond hissed as he brought her closer to his face. "You planned this and had a army. I gave you resources to combat this. HOW DID SHE ESCAPE!"

Zirconia whimpered as she grabbed Diamond's robe. Black tears began to trickle down her face.

Diamond then turned to Pearl. "Can you answer this?"

"Yes Master." Pearl replied as she approached them. "Zirconia was focusing more on controlling the temple rather than apprehending the Furem. She even ordered me not to hunt down the other Gems. Despite the fact that they could help in her escape, which they did."

"But…you…we…" Zirconia sputtered before a large fist slammed into her face.

"You will speak when I command you to speak." Diamond hissed as he released his grip and stood up. "You will also provide your loyalty to your creator, even if you are leading a mission. Do you hear me?"

Zirconia nodded as she tried to get up, only for Diamond to stomp on her chest, causing her to cough up a lot of blue blood.

"You also seemed to forget that you are to follow my orders TO! THE! LETTER!" Diamond roared. "Now not only did you jeopardize my plan, but now there is a chance that they will inform others and complicate thing. Oh, If I had not had Onychinos to spy on them, then your punishment would be much more severe."

Diamond then extended his hand to Pearl, who summoned a spear and handed it to him. He then waved his hand and two Agates lifted Zirconia up and tore off her clothing. Diamond then planted the Spear into the ground with its blade facing up. Zirconia started to panic as she was brought above the spear.

"NO MASTER! STOP PLEASE!" Zirconia screamed, her pleas were of no avail as she was now over the spear. "I'M SORRY MASTER! I'M SORRY FOR MY ACTIONS! FORGIVE ME! FORGIVE ME! NO! NO! NO!"

Pearl looked away from the incident. Diamond noticed this and grabbed Pearl by the head, forcing her to turn the direction of Zirconia.

"You will watch this!" Diamond hissed as he then nodded to the Agates. "Agates… _Pedicabo!_"

Zirconia screamed as the Agates lowered her on the spear. Her voice shrilled with agony as the blade pierced her, sinking deep into the flesh within her. The more Zirconia struggled, the deeper the blade sunk. Pearl and Diamond could see Greyish-blue blood trickle down the body of the spear and drip onto the ground below. Eventually, the Agates released her, and Diamond approached his servant, bleeding and crying, and tilted his head slightly.

"Who am I?" Diamond asked Zirconia.

"You are the M-m-master, the one I..I serve." She replied weakly, wincing at the pain within her.

"What is the reason you exist?" Diamond asked Zirconia.

"To…to serve you, without objection or quest-t-tion, until death." Zirconia mumbled weakly.

"Are you afraid to die?" Diamond asked as he clutched her throat.

"N-no…" Zirconia wimpered as she felt the burning inside her, "For I live to serve, and serve to live."

"Now you understand." Diamond said as he then lifted her off the spear and tossed her to the ground. He then picked up the spear and began walking to the temple.

"May this be a reminder for the next time you decide to object to my orders." Diamond proclaimed as he turned to Pearl and Zirconia, he then looked to the outskirts for a moment and nodded lightly.

"_Et duces eos ad mecum._"

[*]

**Crystal Temple outskirts, present day**

[*]

Lars, Sadie and Ronaldo could not believe their eyes at what they had seen. Sadie was just lowered her head in disbelief at seeing what the Master did to one of his servants and imagined herself in the situation. Lars had turned away from the others to vomit. While Ronaldo remained transfixed at the sight. Having recorded the whole event with his camera.

"Now you see it people of the world. The Diamond conspiracy is real, and what you have seen has shown you how brutal and merciless they are to their own. We cannot let these monster rule this planet! People of the world, hear my message!"

Before Sadie could tell Ronaldo to shut up, her attention was redirected to the five Agates that stood behind them. As Lars stood up from vomiting, he came face to face with an Agate before jumping back in fear. Ronaldo then pulled his revolver out and aimed it at the Agates.

"Alright you tin cans, back off before me and my buddies here kick your...uh cans!"

Sadie and Lars looked to Ronaldo with a look of disgust before arming themselves.

[ORGANICS…LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER AT ONCE…FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH COMMANDS WILL LEAD TO: FORCEFUL SUBJUGATION AND/OR TERMINATION.]"

"Yeah, well terminate this!" Ronaldo shouted as he fired his revolver at the Agates, letting out a battle cry as he did so.

As Ronaldo ran out of bullets, he stopped firing. He along with Sadie and Lars, saw the Agates were unscathed by the attacks. The drones looked at each other as they processed the situation.

"[THIS UNIT HAS CONCLUDED THAT THE ORGANICS ARE ARMED WITH INSUFFICIENT WEAPONS…THEY POSE NO SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO MASTER DIAMOND OR THIS UNIT…ENGAGE PROTOCOL 1132.]"

The other Agates looked to each other in agreement, as they directed their attention back to the trio, who they were able to capture with ease. Sadie tried to use her spear, but an Agate then grabbed it away from her while another wrapped its arms around her. Lars tried to charge towards Sadie, but an Agate rushed in and knocked him to the ground. It then grabbed him by his feet. Ronaldo then jumped up as the three Agates surrounded him. "Stop!" Ronaldo shouted to the Agate. "Release my friends right now, of face my full fisted fury!"

He started to flail his arms wildly, as if he was a ninja of sorts, this was followed by the cliché "come hither" motion.

"Who's first?" Ronaldo asked as he glared at his would be opponents.

The Agates responded to this by shooting him with their claws and electrocuting him until he was unconscious.

"[CONTACTING MASTER DIAMOND…THE INTRUDERS HAS BEEN CAPTURED…THIS UNIT WILL SUBJUGATE THE ORGANICS AND LOCATE POSSIBLE GEMS…THE OTHER UNITS WILL PROCEED TO TAKE THE INTRUDERS TO MASTER DIAMOND FOR QUESTIONING.]"

The Agates then departed, carrying the trio of teens along with them.

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp,City Hall, present day**

[*]

It did not take long for the Agates to arrive at the camp. Within a few hours, the entirety of Beach City was already divided up into a makeshift work camp. Lars, Sadie and Ronaldo watched as the residents of the city were grouped up and moved around by the Agates as if they were cattle. A young refused to budge and started to cry as he was being pulled away from his mother. An Agate quickly responded to this by grabbing his neck and snapping it, tossing the boy aside as the mother ran out screaming, only for her to be grabbed and pulled away by several Agates. Sadie shut her eyes to avoid the sight, only to feel the Agate release her, causing the young girl to fall to the ground, as she lifted herself up, she heard the sound of Lars and Ronaldo grunted as they landed beside her. As she looked before her, she saw two pairs of boots walk up to her. As she looked up slowly, she turned pale at the sight before her. There, before the three humans, was the tall Gemian that was known by many as Master Diamond, the leader of the Crystal Gems. The Old King looked down and stared at Sadie. As she looked onto his piercing red eyes, a feeling of insignificance rushed through her body. As if, she was in the presence of God himself.

"So, you are the Humans that were spying on me?" Diamond asked as he stroked his beard. "I am impressed; I was not expecting your kind to be able to escape subjugation so efficiently."

An Agate handed the Gemian Sadie's weapons, her vials of fire salts, and the healing gel. Diamond raised an eyebrow as he looked to the three.

"Nor would I expect your kind to know how to use our tools." Diamond continued as he bent down to Lars. "Where did you get these?"

"None of your business, Gramps!" Lars shouted to Diamond. Just then, Lars was smacked in the side of the head by Zirconia, who appeared behind the young man. Two Agates lifted Lars off the ground and ripped his shirt open. Diamond then removed one of his gloves and his hand started to glow a bright blue.

"Such hostility." Diamond commented as he aimed his hand on Lars's chest. "Your kind once revered us as Gods. You built monuments to our glory, fought wars for our honor, and fought in our names. It was flattering and insulting, to shed blood over such pointless ideal. It is one of the reasons why I must intervene, to save you…from yourselves."

Diamond then planted his hand on Lars's chest. The teen screamed as steam began to emit from where Diamond planted his hand.

"STOP!" Sadie screamed at the Gemian, who looked to Sadie. "We got those supplies from Steven! He was a Crystal Gem, just like you!"

Diamond gritted his teeth as he removed his hand from Lars, leaving behind a large hand shaped burn on Lars's chest as the Agates dropped him to the ground. He then approached Sadie as he put his glove back on and grabbed her by the neck.

"That…thing was nothing like me!" Diamond hissed as he pulled Sadie closer to his face. "He was abomination, which was why he had to die."

Sadie eyes widened as she processed what Diamond had said. Tears began to run down her face as she looked into Diamond's eyes.

"You…you killed him?" Sadie whispered as Diamond released her, the girl dropped to her knees as she realized the truth. "You killed him and now you…are going to kill us."

"I knew it!" Ronaldo shouted as he pointed to Diamond, who gave him a puzzling look. "This is all part of your plan; those Gems were part of your sneople conspiracy!"

This sudden outburst drew the attention of Diamond and Zirconia, as well as the other Agates.

"…What?" Diamond asked in confusion as he looked do Zirconia, who shrugged. "What conspiracy? What is a "sneople"?"

Ronaldo leaped before the Gemian and pulled out his Camera towards Diamond.

"I know for a fact that you are the head behind the Diamond Conspiracy, and that you are planning to enslave the entire planet so you can hollow out the earth. I also know that you are in an alliance with the Sneople, who are people who look like snakes, and that is terrible!"

"…snake…people…?" Diamond looked to Lars and Sadie in true confusion as he looked back to Ronaldo.

"I…" Diamond said, only to be interrupted as Ronaldo placed his finger on Diamond's lips.

"Shhhh…there is no need to say more." Ronaldo said with a grin. He then backed away from Diamond while pointing it him. "Your presence and actions have said enough."

"Is he functional?" Diamond asked with a concerned look as Ronaldo began to dance around and sing a dramatic and off-key tune.

"I have been asking myself that same question for years." Sadie said, giving the same look to Ronaldo as he slid on the knees and ripped his shirt off, revealing a set of armor. Diamond and Sadie looked to each other before looking back to Ronaldo.

"Hold this for me would you?" Ronaldo asked an Agate as he tossed it his Camera. The Agate looked to the camera and then back at Ronaldo in confusion.

Ronaldo lifted his fists as he began to pump dramatically, preparing for a dramatic and epic fight between him and the Master Diamond.

"Should…should I do something Master?" Zirconia asked, stunned by the bizarre spectacle before her.

"Go back to the temple." He said as he stared at the dancing human before him with a transfixed look. "I will be with you shortly."

Zirconia nodded and then she lept away. As Diamond turned to the two Agates holding Lars and Sadie, he pointed to them.

"You two, take the humans to the camp. I will deal with them after I deal with this one." Diamond ordered.

The Agates nodded as they lifted Lars and Sadie into the air to take them back to the camp, but as they did. Ronaldo looked up and shouted at them

"Sadie…Lars…!" Ronaldo shouted as tears formed in his eyes. "…tell Peedee I love him…and…and tell him to watch my blog when I am gone."

"Ronaldo, stop it!" Sadie shouted as she tried to run to him, only for an Agate to hold her back. "He is a Crystal Gem you're no match for him."

"This is my destiny!" Renaldo shouted, thunder and rain started to fall from the sky. "I am willing to die to protect my planet and to expose the corruption of these monsters. Now Go, and keep Beach City Weird!"

Sadie looked to the unconscious Lars as she looked back to Ronaldo. She felt tears run down her face as she and Lars were carried away, leaving Ronaldo alone with the Gemian Master.

"She is right." Diamond said to Ronaldo. "If you do fight me, you will die. But then again, I cannot risk having you know my plans. So you must die here human."

"If I am going to die, then let it be on my terms!" Ronaldo shouted as he removed his armor, revealing his shirtless body. "No weapons, no powers, man to man! Or are you a chicken?"

"I am not an animal, I am a Gemian God." Diamond said as he dissipated his mace, irritated by the fact that he was constantly doing that. "But I understand your challenge and therefore, accept it."

Ronaldo watched as Diamond removed his upper robe, revealing a body covered with scars and burns. Several scars were patched up with metal and there was a marking of DI on his right pectoral. As he dropped the robe onto the wet ground, he politely bowed to Ronaldo before positioned his fists before himself.

"Now, as per Gemian combat ruling, I must allow the challenger to make the first move. You are allowed the first blow."

Ronaldo smiled as he started to dance oddly, making weird gestures and sounds while dancing around his opponent, as if he was in a game that involved fighting in a street.

"Stop that!" Diamond growled as Ronaldo's strange movements and sounds were starting to annoy him. "I do not know of you are distracting me or you are challenging me! Either way, you are done for human!" Diamond then charged at Ronaldo and swung at him.

"Ah ha! Just as I planed!" Ronaldo said as he ducked the attack and clocked Diamond in the face. "I know you're fighting style which will give me time to-"

As he threw another punch at Diamond, the Gemian simply caught it in his hand. A loud crunch could be heard as Ronaldo shouted in pain and pulled his hand away. Diamond looked down to the human before him he noticed a nearby barrel. Lifting the barrel up, he walked over to the kneeling human and smashed it over his head, causing Ronaldo to scream again as he grabbed his head in pain. As the human rolled on the ground crying, Diamond looked up with disappointment and confusion, looking around as if he was expecting a ambush or a form of distraction.

"Are you…are you actually fighting?" Diamond asked around. "Because I do not feel like this is a-"

"SHORYUKEN!" Ronaldo shouted as spun upward and decked him in the face. Diamond stumbled back and then charged at Ronaldo, tackling him into a wall. The Gemian then grabbed the human, bringing him up to his face. Ronaldo gasped as he looked at the Gemian's face, and saw that his jaw had split open and had strange feeding tongue. He hissed at Ronaldo before retracting and resetting his jaw.

"It has not even been a full hour and you have become quite the nuisance." Diamond said as he glared at Ronaldo. "It is a miracle that you have managed to even exist this long without being euthanized. However, despite you achievement, I will fix that mistake."

"Uh-huh…" Ronaldo said half-exhausted as he placed a hand on Diamond's shoulder. "I'm still standing am I?"

Diamond gave a look of irritation before Ronaldo smashed his head against Diamond's face. As Diamond backed away, covering his face with his hands, Ronaldo suddenly jumped up onto his feet.

"Ha! I have deceived you again!" Ronaldo shouted triumphantly. "Now for my ultimate attack!"

Ronaldo lifted his hands up to his head. Diamond then lowered his hands to gaze at the "warrior" before him.

"Psychic Ghost Powers Activate!" Ronaldo shouted to Diamond, followed by a chant of gibberish. Diamond quickly realized what was happening and quickly lunged forward and kicked the crazy human in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he fell to the floor with a thud.

"It is a shame." Diamond said as approached the human. "With your knowledge, you could have warned your planet instead of fighting me head on. Now, you will die and your planet will follow the same path."

"Ugh…jokes on you…" Ronaldo said with a smile. "I already uploaded my video."

Diamond turned to the remaining Agate that was holding the camera. As it opened the viewing screen, the words "Upload Complete" blinked in red letters. Diamond then looked back and lifted the crackpot off the ground by his neck.

"N-now the world will see the truth and will be able to stop you…" Ronaldo gasped as he grabbed Diamond's arm. "Your conspiracy is done for. I…I finally revealed your scheme once and for all."

Diamond then smashed the human into the ground, punching him several times before throwing him to another wall. Diamond then approached the wounded human and grabbed him once more, now determined end this.

"I must say, I am impressed by your determination and your intellect." Diamond said as he tightened his grip slightly causing Ronaldo to gasp and choke. "I would never suspect that a mere primate would be able to figure out our agenda so quickly, and then sacrifice his life to delay his planet's destruction. In fact, I find it touching. But there is one question I would like to ask before I deal with you…"

Diamond then pulled Ronaldo forward and glared at him. Ronaldo could see the red build in his eyes. He knew that at this moment, he was done for, but he smiled, knowing that humanity would know about Diamond and his conspiracy, and that they would have the time to stop it.

"…of all the knowledge you have about my "conspiracy" and the Gems, what did you preserve me as originally? A demon? A parasite?"

"…The… The Leviathan…" Ronaldo replied faintly. He saw Diamond's eyes widen in surprise. "Isaiah 27:1…"

"…Thank you." Diamond said as he glared at the Human before him. "Goodbye."

Diamond then split his jaw open and attached his tongue to Ronaldo's neck. The Human gasped as he felt the Vitae leave his body. As Diamond finished, he wrapped his tongue around Ronaldo's neck and…

*crack*

Diamond released the body into his hands. As he stared into the eyes of the human before him. He felt a pang of guilt through his chest.

"I am sorry it resulted in this human." Diamond said as he closed Ronaldo's glazed eyes. "But you must understand that this is necessary for your Universe. I must sacrifice billions to save trillions. That is the price for order and peace."

He then placed him onto the ground as he pointed to the Agate with a camera.

"Bury him." Diamond commanded softly. "Then we begin phase two."

[*]


	2. The Trouble

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: Cleverun

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 2: Big Trouble in Little City

[*]

**Somewhere in Vietnam, Grasslands, one day later**

[*]

The grasslands where quite peaceful. Warm wind blew through the tall grass, causing the plants to flow like a large green river. The trees in the distance stretched and bent their branches in the breeze. Not a single building could be seen for miles, except for the small makeshift cabin in the middle of the grasslands. It was rather shabby and composed of salvaged wood and junk. As the door opened, a small girl emerged from the shack with a large bag hung over her shoulder. She had mix of grey and black hair and silver eyes. On the back of her left palm was a crack Gemstone. The girl also had grey skin with a scar on the right side of her face that looked like the cracks on her Gem. This girl was no ordinary girl, but a Gem by the name of Howlite. As the Gem looked around at the grasslands surrounding her, she took a deep breath and let out a sigh. She then crouched down and leapt up into the air, hopping in large leaps until she approached a small village.

[*]

As she landed within the village, starling a few of the locals, she began to walk around the small community; looking at the sights of the townspeople and listening to them speak to each other. She continued to walk until she noticed a small man sitting before a table under a canopy. As soon as he noticed her, he smiled and gestured for her to approach him.

"Good morning Mr. Sol." Howlite saluted with a smile as she placed the bag on the ground next to him. " I have something for you."

"Ah, Howlite. Are these the animal's you where referring to?" Mr. Sol said with a grin as he grabbed the bag and looked inside. " I can't wait to use these. Are you sure they have medical uses?"

Howlite nodded. "You bet. The Gems can be ground up and mixed with its blood to be used as a healing agent. We used them all the time during…"

Howlite sentence trailed off as Mr. Sol opened the bag; he smiled as he pulled out the corpse of a small lizard like creature that seemed to be light in color and had crystals on its back. Mr. Sol then placed the creature on his table and then he took out a knife. As Howlite watched him carefully, pull the gems out of the creatures back. A thought coursed through her head.

Her mind flashed back to a large dark chamber in space. Her screams echoed through the room as a tall figure appeared before her. He then turned to a nearby table and placed his hand on it. As he pulled away, a row of tools appeared on the table, consisting of what appeared to be scalpels, knives and a large saw. The figure picked the saw up from the table and turned back to Howlite, who realized what was going on. As the figure was hovering above her, she could see his face, and recognize him as Master Diamond. As he glared down to her, he began to speak to her. However, as he talked, all Howlite could hear was a static scream. As he began to saw into her body, she was quickly snapped back into reality. Howlite looked around at the crowd of shocked and horrified people surrounding her. As she looked before her, there was Mr. Sol, only he was laying on the ground in a pool of blood with a knife in his neck. Howlite walked back in shock before looking to the crowd.

"Why did you hurt me?" Howlite said to the crowd with tears in her eyes as she leapt away from the crowd and then from the village.

[*]

It was dark as Howlite returned to her shack in the grasslands. She barged into her home and locked the door behind her. Slumping to the floor as she curled up and began to cry.

Suddenly, she stopped and stood up. Howlite walked into another room and then opened a door to a staircase. As she walked down to the staircase, she reached a small dark room. As she lit a lamp inside, she looked around at the room before her. Inside the walls coated with drawings of Howlite killing Monster Diamond. Crude pictures of the Gemian decapitated, chopped up burned, sodomized, and dissected by the Cracked Gem covered the walls.

Howlite then walked over to the end of the room and approached a small shrine. The shrine depicted a small-desecrated mural of Diamond, who had large x marks over his eyes as well as markings and insults carved around him. At the base of the shrine was a brown bowl with a small voodoo doll inside, a doll of Diamond that was cut open. As Howlite approached the shrine, she removed her pants and knelt before the shrine.

"_Mortem ad terram monstrum, et bene servientibus eam._" Howlite muttered as she looked up to the mural, glaring into the crossed out eyes of the mural, which glared down at her. She imagined the sight of Diamond falling by her hands, the sound of his screams as she tore him apart limb from limb, she felt one of her hand begin to travel south down her body. Her mind occupied with the thought of killing the monster.

"_Testor per Gema atque TO, reducam vobis!_" Howlite gasped then shuttered with a grin as she continued to glare at the mural. She imagined the blue warm blood of the Old King splash across her face as could feel her hand becoming wet as she rubbed faster.

"_Habeo patiatur quasi Faciamque vobis…_" As she imagined the sound made from then ripping of Diamond's head from his body, and the sight of his eyes glazing over, his last sight being the Gem that he tormented all those years ago. Howlite stopped as she felt a pulse of ecstasy flow through her, her hand becoming soaked from her climax. _"…et magnificabo nomen meum in sicut dirumpant vos te clamatis!_"

As she finished and stood back up, she heard a knock at her door. Quickly redressing herself and running up to the shack door, she summoned her ax as she carefully opened the door.

"What the hell do you want?" Howlite shouted, before realizing who it was. There standing before her was the blue Gem known as Lapis Lazuli, a Gem known to be a daughter of Topaz and was last seen dragging the Gem known as Jasper to the bottom of the ocean. However, as of now, she was standing before the cracked Gem, her cloths were torn and she had a few cuts on her body.

"Lapis?" Howlite exclaimed as she lowered her weapon. "You're alive…?"

"Yes, but listen to me, I don't have much time."

Howlite scoffed as she looked to the ground, clenching her ax in her hand tightly.

"I thought you were dead." Howlite said as she summoned her ax. "I heard that you sacrificed yourself to stop another Gem. But the question I want to know is how did you escape?"

Lapis hesitated as Howlite looked back up to the blue Gem. By looking into Lapis's eyes did the Gem know the answer.

"HE released you, didn't he?"

"Yes, and I escaped, but you need to listen to me." Lapis said as she looked behind her back. "You are right, it is Master Diamond, he is building an army from the kindergartens, and he has the Delmarva Peninsula Temple as his base. Howlite we need to find Master Topaz and stop Diamond. He's going to destroy the planet."

Howlite just froze, her eyes widened as she glared at the blue Gem before her. Howlite then turned around and looked at the floor. As Lapis approached the Gem, Howlite punched the wall.

"You lied to me!" Howlite snapped as she removed her fist from the wall and examined it. "You are just like him, you build up the trust of people and have them care and adore you, and then you rip out their hearts and destroy them. You proved that when you fled on Insidiae, when you left us behind to be…"prisoners.""

"Howlite, I…I'm sorry." Lapis said as she gently approached the Gem, trying not to upset the unstable Gem before her. "I know that Master Diamond hurt you-"

Suddenly, Lapis fell back as Howlite tackled her in the face. As she knelt over Lapis, Howlite aimed her ax at the Gem's neck.

"NO, NO YOU DON'T LAPIS! YOU WERE NOT ON INSIDIAE! YOU FLED LIKE A COWARD!" Howlite screamed at Lapis, tears pouring down her face as a grin spread across her face. "All the things he did to me…to those Gems. I…I watched my friends melt before my eyes, transformed into…beasts. Where were you during all of that Lapis? WHERE WERE YOU?"

As she aimed he ax closer, she heard a boom as she looked up. In the sky, she saw several figures flying towards them. Howlite moved off Lapis as she stood back up. The two then watched as the beings landed before the Gems. Howlite instantly recognized them as Agates.

"You brought those things with you, I see?" Howlite growled as she brandished her ax.

"I was trying to warn you about that." Lapis replied as she brandished her wings.

One of the Agates hovered forward, stopping to notice Howlite and quickly scan her.

""[GEM IDENTIFIED….IDENTIFICATION: HOWLITE…..CLASSIFICATION: PERTURBATIO…..GEM TYPE: ASCITUS….WEAPON TYPE: AX….THREAT LEVEL: MINOR…CONCLUSION…PRIORITY WILL BE SET ON LAPIS LAZULI...THIS UNIT WILL APPREHEND THE AFOREMENTIONED GEM]"

Howlite did not hesitate to attack the Agate, only for the machine to dodge the attack and restrain the Gem. Howlite then struggled to break free as she reached out to Lapis, who was surrounded by Agates. Lapis then looked to the pleading Howlite with an expression of regret.

Howlite mind quickly flashed to another moment, she saw Lapis surrounded by Agates and Gem Elite. She looked to Howlite with the same expression as she did now.

"Howlite" Lapis said to the cracked Gem.

"Forgive me."

With that, Lapis shot up into the air like a rocket. The Agates that surrounded her followed in pursuit.

Howlite watched as the Gem and the Agates behind her vanished into the sky, leaving Howlite and the Agate restraining her behind. Howlite then looked to the ground and began to sob lightly.

"[THIS UNIT WILL NOW TAKE YOU TO MASTER DIAMOND…FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN: FORCED GEM STATUS AND/OR GEM TERMINATION.]"

Howlite did not respond as the Agate took her away. She watched as her little shack in the middle of the grassland disappear from her vison, noticing the small crowd of people approaching it. As she moved farther away, she could see a small orange light in the distance, and a column of smoke as well. Howlite clenched her fists before screaming loudly in fits of laughter. She screamed so loud, that the birds in the trees below her shot out and flew away from her, just as Lapis did.

[*]

**Steven's House, Interior, present day**

[*]

Diamond looked around the home, by his orders all of the clutter had been removed from the house. Save for a table, several chairs, and the picture of Rose Quartz that hung upon the door. As Diamond stared at the painting, he suddenly noticed a figure standing next to him. It was Rose Quartz, the Gemian of Emotion and Diamond's sister.

"Remember when Topaz made that for me?" Rose asked Diamond. "You told them that it would be such a waste of time. But you allowed it anyway."

"Why are you here?" Diamond asked Rose. "You should be bothering the Furem, given that she has you powers."

"A portion of them." Rose corrected Diamond. "It was difficult, but in the end, it was the only way to prevent you from acquiring them."

Diamond turned to Rose, a expression of anger flashed across his face.

"How could you do that?" Diamond hissed to Rose. "Turn my servant to your side and even having her end your life. That is not possible, especially since she is a Gemian."

"Your methods of creating servants have their costs Brother." Rose explained. "Through your methods, you had caused the Gemian powers in your children to stagnate. When Pearl was created, she was as powerful as a basic Gem, and Zirconia is probably weaker than that."

Diamond cringed as he stepped out the door and onto the balcony. Rose followed after, resting on the balcony bar overlooking the beachside. The two Gemians watched the waves as they splashed in the ocean. Diamond then reached into his pocket and pulled out a dead rose. As Rose saw Diamond examine the flower, she looked to her brother with a sad gaze.

"It doesn't have to be this way." Rose said to Diamond. "You can still fix this. I know you can."

"You brought this on yourself." Diamond said with a sigh. "You rebelled against me, our people, and our purpose. We were supposed to protect the Universe from all threats, including threats from within. You saw what they did to you and your people after the War. They despised you, hunted you down like animals. Whatever they fear, they hate and whatever they hate, they destroy. These Humans are no different from the countless species we have encountered in this Universe. The only difference is that their planet is bountiful with the resources that can rebuild our empire to its former glory."

Rose nodded lightly. "But do they deserve such cruelty? Will enslaving and destroying them actually bring peace?"

Diamond turned to Rose and glared into her eyes.

"Their enslavement is a kindness." Diamond replied. "They have enslaved each other for centuries. Hollowed out their planet for their selfish desires, and killed each other off over meaningless ideal. Without our intervention, they would drive their own race, and those among them, to extinction."

"Where we so different?" Rose asked Diamond, who paused at the question. "The use of kindergartens, the civil war, the whole concept of our empire, looking back at our lives and then looking at the humans, can't you see the parallels in our culture and ideals. If you build a empire out of that, then you are no different than they are."

Diamond paused for a minute, processing the information as he looked to the flower in his hand. As he looked back to Rose, his expression softened for a moment, before he noticed the scar around the base of her arm, which cause him to harden up and turn away from her.

"The difference between me and them Rose is that unlike the Humans, I will not succumb to feral madness that consumes them. I do not carry the desires for material wants, nor do I want to end their lives over the concept of a higher being…"

"Like Gemia?" Rose interjected.

"…what I do, I do for the preservation of the Universe. I ensure that order is established. To do such, there has to be sacrifice and change, and I am willing to sacrifice a planet of billions to preserve a Universe of Sextillions. It is the cycle of existence, to sacrifice for the greater good. Something you could not understand."

Rose tilted her head sadly, as she stepped away from Diamond. "If this is what you believe to be true…"

"It is true!" Diamond shouted as he turned to her once more. "You are a fool to think you can save this planet."

"You are wrong Diamond." Rose said as she began to disappear. "I want to save you."

As she vanished, Diamond felt a pang in his chest as he walked back into the house. Ensured that he was alone, Diamond fell to his knees and began to gasp. Diamond grabbed his face as he began to weep. As he recomposed himself, he watched as Zirconia appeared from the warp pad. She then approached Diamond and knelt to him.

"Where is Lapis?" Diamond asked the Gem before him.

"She escaped." Zirconia responded. "But Onyx and a group of Agates are persuing her."

"Good." Diamond said as he approached Zirconia. "What of Jasper?"

Zirconia held her hand up to Diamond, revealing a small Jasper Gem resting on her palm.

"Good." Diamond responded as he plucked the Gem from Zirconia. "It seems you have redeemed yourself after all. Now leave me."

Zirconia nodded as she walked to the warp pad and absconded. As soon as she was gone, Diamond held up the Gem in his hand and spoke to it.

"_Jaspidis, ad mecum!_"

He then tossed the Gem to the floor. As soon as the Gem fell to the floor before Diamond, there was a large flash of light. When the light faded, these was a Gem kneeling on the ground before Diamond. She had orange skin and white flowing hair. She wore a red-orange suit with a yellow Diamond in the center. This Gem was known as Jasper, once known for leading a invasion on Beach City and getting dragged to the bottom of the ocean by Lapis. Now she kneels before the Old King. As she looked around at her surroundings, she then noticed the boots before her. As she looked up to Diamond, her face turned pale as she then sat up to kneel to him appropriately.

"Master Diamond." Jasper said to the Gemian. "I am Jasper, member of the Diamond Authority: Yellow Diamond's branch."

"I know about the authority." Diamond replied to Jasper. "I created them, as well as the Lesser Diamonds. Why do you think I am called "Master" Diamond?"

"Forgive me Master." Jasper said submissively. "It has been ages since we last heard from you. Yellow Diamond assumed you were…gone."

"I figured much, which is what she and the others were created for." Diamond explained as he turned to look out a window. "In the event of my absence from the homeworld, they would control things until I returned. Did they send you to complete the original priority?"

"No Master, I was sent her on request of Peridot." Jasper replied. "She wanted me to deal with Rose Quartz. She was still alive, but in the form of a young boy."

"You were somewhat correct." Diamond explained. "My sister died, but she gave her powers to her offspring, a hybrid named Steven. I had my servant kill him." Diamond turned to Jasper with a look of contempt. "You know her as, that "Defective Pearl"."

Jasper gasped lightly. "Forgive me Master, I-I didn't know…"

"It does not matter." Diamond replied. "Rose's powers were transferred to a Human, a Furem, and she fled the city, along with Rose's pet Amethyst and my former apprentice Garnetum."

Jasper looked up to Diamond in fear. "Wait…that fusion was you're…"

Diamond then turned and approached Jasper. "Yes, I see you followed Topaz ideals of fusion, or are least until you tried to fuse with one of their Secundos. You saw the consequences of such a rash decision."

Jasper looked down once more. "Master, let me hunt the Furem down, allow me to regain my honor. If not them, then at least Lapis."

"No, Onychinos is hunting Lapis and I am going after the Furem. However, I have another task for you." Diamond knelt to Jasper and pulled her gaze to his. "Find Peridot and bring her to me. That is your mission."

Jasper nodded. "As you desire Master, it will be no challenge."

Diamond and Jasper stood up and walked up the warp pad. As Jasper stood on the warp pad, Diamond approached her.

"Peridot is crucial to my plans." Diamond hissed to Jasper. "Should anything happen to her, you will be held responsible in full, and the punishment will be nothing you could ever imagine."

Jasper gulped before nodding. As Diamond watched, Jasper vanish. He then looked back to the picture of Rose and sighed. Diamond then snapped his fingers and Zirconia appeared from the Warp pad.

"Exhume the body of the human I killed the other day. Then call forward the prisoners."

Zirconia nodded as she darted out the front door. Diamond then looked at the picture once more before following Zirconia.

"If you cannot understand the truth, then I will have to show you the truth. These human treat their free will as a spoiled children treat toys, and the only option I have is to take it away from them."

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp, Center Hub, present day**

[*]

The Agates gathered all of the residents of beach city into the center of the town, among the group was Lars and Sadie. Lars groaned as he scratched the bandages on his chest, only for Sadie to slap his hand away.

"But it itches." Lars whined to Sadie.

"I don't care." Sadie replied through gritted teeth. "Stop making a scene before you kill us both."

Lars groaned as he tried to stop itching his wounds. As Sadie looked around from the crowd at the Agates that surrounded them, she saw Peedee and Fryman looking around and calling for Ronaldo. Sadie felt a knot in her stomach at the sight, knowing that their search was in vain.

Just then, Sadie and the rest of Beach City's attention was drawn to Master Diamond, who was standing on a stage in front of what was once City Hall with Zirconia and Pearl by his side. As he looked to the shouting people before him, he responded to their outbursts with a single word.

"_CESSABIS!_" Diamond roared, causing the whole crowd to fall silent with fear. "All of you."

There was a dead stillness in the air. Sadie and Lars could hear their own heartbeats. After a few seconds, Diamond spoke once more.

"Ages ago, your kind looked to us as Gods, as providers of guidance and leadership. We provided you knowledge and power to create your own leaders and to ensure growth. We gave you free will as a species and spared your planet from destruction, but what do you do with our gift? You have destroyed your world, killed thousands of your species for meaningless ideals, and you even attacked our kind out of greed and lust for power. That is unacceptable, for we have failed you with your upbringing and it fall upon me to ensure your "correction" and your "redemption. If you wish to survive as a species, you will do as you did in the past and you shall serve the very Gods you worshipped, without question or objection."

The crowd looked to each other in concern before they noticed two agates hovered next to Zirconia, they appeared to be holding an object between them that was covered in a sheet.

"Do not think that your servitude will not be unrewarded. For serving under my authority, you will be granted liberation from corruption and free will, and a purpose towards a true authority. However, if you refuse to cooperate, if you rebel against my law or try to escape this compound. Then of course…"

Diamond snapped his fingers, and the Zirconia removed the sheet from the object the Agates were holding, revealing the dead body of Ronaldo. His body was bruised and swollen, and his head was dangling sideways, allowing his glazed eyes to gaze upon the crowd. Several people in the crowd screamed and cursed at the sight, the loudest of them being Fryman and Peedee. Sadie cupped her hands over her mouth as tears formed in her eyes, while Lars turned away to vomit.

"…the consequences will be grim." Diamond finished as he waved his hand. The Agates holding Ronaldo's body then flew towards the water tower. The residents of Beach City watched in horror as they watched them hang his body on the base of the tower. The crowd's attention was then drawn to the yelling of NO from within as Fryman charged onto the stage that Diamond stood upon. Zirconia and Pearl approached him with weapons drawn, but Diamond raised his hand and they backed away.

"Human, I will warn you only once." Diamond informed Fryman before he was cut off by the human before him.

"You killed my son!" Fryman screamed at the Gemian, tears of rage flowing from his eyes. "How could you kill my boy? You're no God, you're a monster!"

"I killed you son because he refused to submit to my orders and he attacked me." Diamond explained to Fryman. "His death was brought on by his ignorance as a human and as a lesser being."

"LIAR!" Fryman shouted at Diamond. "If you wanted peace, you could've spared him! How does the death of my son "liberate me"?"

"To be honest, I did syphoned his memories and thoughts as I consumed his Vitae…" Diamond replied as he approached Fryman. "…and from what I learned about him, you should thank me for what I did."

The next thing anyone knew, Fryman reached behind his back and pulled out a revolver. The crowd off residents gasped at the sight.

"Oh no…" Sadie gasped as she clung to Lars's arm.

"Where the hell do the Frymans get their guns?" Lars asked Sadie as he continued to gaze at the standoff before them and the rest of Beach City.

"I will grant you a second warning and implore you to stand down human." Diamond stated to Fryman, who cocked the gun right at Diamond. "As I said, if you continue to rebel, you will not like the consequences."

"Shut up!" Fryman screamed. "You killed Ronaldo…You…YOU MURDERED MY BOY! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"So be it!" Diamond said as he glared intensely at Fryman.

In that instant, the man grabbed his head and bend forward slightly. When he looked up, his eyes where black shot and he was crying black tears.

"Wha…t…are…y..ou…" Fryman said to Diamond, his voice sounded strained and weak.

"Assuming direct control." Diamond replied coldly as he raised his hand before Fryman. "It is the preferred solution to deal with those who rebel against me. As of now, I control your every action, and as of now, your very life."

As he clenched his hand, Fryman then put the barrel of his gun to his head. As he did, there was an audible gasping and pleading in the audience. Suddenly Peedee climbed up onto the stage and ran up to Diamond, falling onto his knees before the Gemian.

"Please, don't kill my dad." Peedee begged Diamond. "We won't fight back, we will obey you. Just please, spare him."

Diamond looked to Peedee then back to Fryman. Placing his hand to his chin, he nodded as Fryman lowered his gun from his head.

"Human, your child has convinced me to spare you. It seems that he has a better understanding of sacrifice than you do." Diamond said to the man before him. In that instant, an Agate grabbed Peedee and held him up next to Diamond.

"Which is why you will shoot him instead." Diamond finished as he gestured to Peedee, who looked to Diamond with a look of fear before looking back to Fryman.

The crowd shouted in horror and shock. Pleas of mercy and offers of tribute were shot into the air. More people attempted to jump on the stage before Agates restrained them. As people began to scatter, Sadie began to charge towards the stage before Lars stopped her.

"Lars! We have to save Peedee!" Sadie shouted to Lars as she tried to break his grip. "They can't do this."

"Sadie, we have to leave him." Lars replied as he tightened his grip. "You said it yourself; they'll kill us if we do anything."

As Sadie continued to flail and try to break free. Lars gestured over to Sour Cream and Buck Dewey, and the three of them dragged Sadie away.

"No...NO...PEEDEE!" Sadie screamed as she watched the possessed Fryman approached the restrained Peedee. The three were able to enter an abandoned building before any of the Agates noticed them. As the Agates rounded everyone back into the hub, the watched in horror as Fryman stepped toward his son like a robot, with a gun in hand.

"Dad?" Peedee said to his father with tears in his eyes. Just then, he heard a crack and felt a sharp pain in his stomach and lower back. As the boy looked down, he saw a small hole in his shirt, which began to become wet with red blood. Peedee gasped and cried as he felt an Agate's claw hold his head up, which allowed him to see his father aim his gun to his son's head. Peedee could feel the warm barrel of the pistol tremble on his head, and could see the black tears flow from his eyes. Fryman looked into the crying eyes of his son, knowing that the life of his son was in the hands of the one that ended the life of his other son.

"Kill him." Diamond commanded as he moved next to Fryman. "Kill your son."

"P…lea…se…" Fryman pleaded weakly, looking to his master while trying to fight the indoctrination. "Don…t…mak…e…me….kill….m…e…"

"I warned you that there would be a price for rebellion." Diamond hissed into Fryman's ear. "As a Gemian and as a ruler, I have to keep to my word."

Fryman looked back to Peedee. He could feel his finger begin to squeeze the trigger of the gun.

"_Paratum!_" Diamond stated raising his hand up in the air.

"Dad" Peedee pleaded to his father, feeling the barrel of the gun dig deeper into his forehead.

"_Cataracta!I_" Diamond continued.

"I…m….sor…sorr…y…Pee…d…ee…I…lo…-"

"_USTRINA!_" Diamond commanded, bringing his arm down

*BANG*

Fryman watched as the gun fired in his hands, a lone bullet shot through Peedee's skull and out through the back of his head. A large chunk of bloody skull and brain matter shot out along with the bullet. As Fryman lowered his gun, he looked at the face of his son. His blank expression glaring back at him as small traces of smoke rose from the bullet hole, the smell of gunpowder and an odd stench that resembled old cottage cheese was present. The Agates then released Peedee body, allowing it to fall to its knees and then to its side. Screams of horror and grief passed through the crowd as they processed the sight they witnessed. Diamond stepped around Fryman and grabbed Peedee's corpse by the neck and legs, lifting it up above his head for the residents of Beach City to see.

"Now you truly see what will come upon you should you decide to challenge me? Understand that should you wish to save those who you love, you must surrender to me, to order. Who will receive the redemption from corruption? Who will accept liberation from chaos? Who will accept peace?"

Within seconds, the crowd of residents began to bow, one after another. As Diamond watched the Agates move the crowd away to their respected camps with satisfaction, an Agate swooped down and grabbed Peedee's body, taking it to the water tower to hang next to his brother. Diamond then walked up to Fryman, who handed him his pistol.

"Who am I?" Diamond asked Fryman.

"You are the Master." Fryman replied without tone.

"What is your purpose?"

"To serve you without question or objection."

"Are you aware of my wrath and my generosity?"

"…yes…"

"Are you aware of the consequences of free will?"

Fryman's eyes welled up as he looked to Diamond.

"Yes..." Fryman replied with gritted teeth.

"Good" Diamond said to Fryman. "Releasing control."

Fryman fell to his knees and began to vomit black bile. As Diamond walked away from the broken father, he looked back to Fryman with a stern expression.

"Do not forget Human, that all of this could have been avoided if you heeded my warning. You child's death is and always will be your fault."

As an Agate began to escort Fryman to his camp, he looked up to the direction of the water tower and wept loudly as he saw the figures hanging from the tower, hanging side-by-side, brother by brother.

[*]

**Steven's House, Interior, present day**

[*]

The moment Diamond stepped into the house, he noticed Jasper arguing with another Gem. Upon her sight, Diamond's eyes widened in surprise. This Gem was shorter than Jasper and has a triangle shaped hairdo. She wore a metallic armor and has ten hovering fingers. Around her feet where several of her robonoids, blue orb robots that scurried around the house like spiders. One of them moved up to Diamond, who picked it up to examine it.

"You still think you can boss me around like that?" Peridot shouted to Jasper, who crossed her arms and smiled. "First you tell me to hunt down Rose Quartz, then you tell me to hide and leave earth, and now you are telling me that Diamond is alive?"

"Yes, I talked with "MASTER" Diamond." Jasper responded, ensuring that Peridot knows her place. "He asked me to specifically find you. Don't know why he wants a little green nerd like you anyway. I was part of his elite back in the day. One of his loyal solders."

"True…" Diamond interjected as he approached the two Gems. "But unlike you, Peridot is far more valuable to me than any army."

The moment Peridot looked to Diamond, her expression changed to surprise as she backed away for a moment, after a second of processing, she lunged forward and hugged the Gemian. Jasper approached to pull the Green Gem off him but Diamond extended his hand to back away. He then awkwardly placed his hands around her.

"Diamond!" Peridot exclaimed loudly as she tightened her grip. "Jasper wasn't lying, you are alive!"

"I know Peridot, and I am sorry for putting you through that." Diamond said as he embraced the hug before pulling her away and then scanning her body. "But what about you? I see You have improved your body. It looks fantastic!"

Peridot looked away sheepishly, fidgeting with her fingers as a green blush grew across her face. Diamond looked to Jasper, who was dumbfounded at what was happening.

"Leave us." Diamond commanded Jasper. "And should you speak of this to anyone, I will use you for an Agate."

Jasper hesitantly nodded before dashing over to the warp pad. As she was about to teleport, she though out loud an obvious question that pounded in her head.

"What the fuck just happened?"

As Jasper teleported away, Peridot and Diamond were alone. Well, aside from the various robonoids in the house. Diamond then picked up a Robonoid off the ground and began to study it.

"Forgive me Diamond, but a lot has changed since you…disappeared." Peridot explained as she fidgeted. "After the war, I continued to follow your orders and begin creating an army. However, It became harder to do such after your Authority took control of the Gems and modified their history."

Diamond looked to the Robonoid in his hands and then back to Peridot.

"I see..." Diamond replied as he placed the Robonoid in hands on the ground. "What did you do?"

"Well, after the encounter with the hybrid, "Steven" and of course the involvement of the homeworld. The whole authority fell to chaos. It made it easier to conquer and create Agates after we began to conquer their main colonies."

"I know." Diamond interjected. "I actually led an attack on a Gem colony before I attacked this city. It was the colony Venatio, led by Turquoise."

Peridot nodded as she watched a Robonoid attempt to crawl up the wall. "With the homeworld and the main colonies, we now have an army of 7.12 trillion Agates." She then looked to her hand, which transformed into a screen. "There are a few remits, but it's nothing the Agates can't handle. I will be sending the army to the outer rim. They should hinder Tiberium's fleet significantly until we reactivate the kindergarten, which will provide a solid 2.7 trillion."

"_Optime!_." Diamond said as he walked to the center of the room. "As the main Agate army fights off the Metalian fleet. Then I will reactivate the kindergartens on Earth. With an Army of Agates and the powers of Gemia and Obsidian, Tiberium will be no match for me. Then, we can rebuild the Universe in our image, as it should have been."

Diamond then felt a thud as he looked down to see one of the Robonoids pushing on his boot. Diamond lifted the orb off the ground and examined it.

"I have to say Peridot; I am surprised by your ability to still use Metalian technology." Diamond said to Peridot, who blushed as she looked away. "What is interesting about these machines is that they have a large resemble your previous form, from when you were the Intelligence for the Metalians."

"Yes…I…Have a problem with originality." Peridot said hesitantly. As she looked back to Diamond, she looked away from him. Diamond then placed his hand on her cheek. As she gazed into his silver eyes. She looked down in hesitation.

"Diamond, how can you forgive me like this?" Peridot said to Diamond as she gently grabbed his hand, tears forming in her eyes. "I know the punishment your servant's receive for failure or disobedience, and I was responsible for destroying your authority from within, not to mention my involvement with Tiberium. How can you forgive me for all that?"

Diamond gave a small smile as he pulled Peridot closer. The green Gem could feel the energy emit from the Gemian before her.

"There are a few reasons for that Peridot." Diamond explained to Peridot. "For one thing, the Homeword authority became stagnate and warped from their directive, and had to be purged and second…"

The two Gems where pulled into a close grip, Peridot eyes fluttered shut as Diamond pulled her lips closer to his, close enough to hear him whisper to her.

"…you are not my servant, but something of greater significance. How could I not forgive one who will always forgive me?"

As their lips were only inches away from contact, the warp pad activated, causing Diamond and Peridot to leap apart from each other. As Jasper and Pearl emerged from the warp pad, they saw Diamond meditating with his back to the warp pad while Peridot was tending to one of her Robonoids.

"Master, we have a Gem." Pearl stated as she knelt before the Gemian. "The Agates caught her during a search for Lapis."

"Is it the Furem?" Diamond asked.

"No." Jasper replied. "But she says she knows you. She calls herself, Howlite."

Diamond turned to Pearl and Jasper and then back to his forward direction. As he stood up, Pearl and Jasper watched him shift his robe a few times before turning to the warp pad.

"Let me see her." Diamond commanded to his servants. As the three stood on the warp pad, he then looked to Peridot, who looked quickly to Diamond before looking back to her Robonoids.

"Is everything alright Master?" Pearl asked Diamond.

"Yes." Diamond replied coldly before slapping Pearl in the face. "And do not speak unless spoken to, it that clear?"

"Yes, forgive me master." Pearl replied softly.

With that, the Gems teleported away, but when the warp pad finished, Peridot looked to the warp pad and noticed a small note on the warp pad. As she picked up the note, her eyes widened in surprise. On the note, there was what could be interpreted as a small poem. This poem was written hastily on a primitive form of parchment, but it was clear that the poem was made by Peridot several centuries ago.

_Est DI: Poterit vas tuum gemma tuae somniant machinamenti?_

_Diamond umquam interiorem hominem Quo pulchrior es sis. Ego dilexi vos pariter cum primis diebus erogaverat volumus. Non laboro Propter alium quam te._

_Autem Diamond, ego sum a Metalian. Creationem factus sum inimicus. Te amo quod tibi dicereautem unum scire possum quod pro vobis non potest esse. Sufficeret ut diceret fortiter Non sum quod ego te amo orbabor filio quoniam pavea. Venient autem dies, dicam te amo. Donec commodo Jerosolymis mecum manent._

_-PE_

Moreover, when she turned the paper on the opposing side, there was another poem. As she read the opposing poem, she gave a tearful smile as she held the note to her chest, knowing exactly what the message was.

_Est PE: Eructavit cor meum eloquium tuum expectantes amoris._

_Peridot, meum me interrogas vim somnii conprehendunt. volo ad vobis respondebo. Non scire autem si vos sciet. Omnes enim quaecumque habes sit pax mihi somnia._

_Peridot estis nox illuminatio amica mea praesente in vobis quia unicus est mihi somnium dantis. Quod si Si diligitis mecum tandem aliquandoet ascendite novissimo transeat in rem somnium. Donec eloquium tuum exspectantes ego autem dilectionis nullam quantivis temporis accipit._

_-DI_

[*]


	3. The Centipede

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: HikumiRin

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 3: The Gemian Centipede

[*]

**Crystal Temple, Catacombs, Present day**

[*]

Howlite opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings. It was a simple room with no windows or lights save for a pair of light in the corners of the room. On the side near the door, there was a table with a small jar on it. As Howlite tried to move, she found herself bound to a chair. Looking downward, she saw her hands and feet were bound by glowing metal cufflinks. As she looked around again at her surroundings, she noticed something. All around the room Howlite could see faint stains of blood, especially a noticeably large stain on the floor next to her. As she examined the walls she could see some of the stains seemed to be words. Although she could not recognize all of them. She could read one of the words.

"FAILURE"

For some reason, Howlite felt a sense of loss at the realization. However, she did not know why. Suddenly, the door before her opened and Jasper entered. Howlite glared at the Orange Gem, who looked back at her with a wide grin.

"Good, you're awake." Jasper said to the cracked Gem. "Did you enjoy your stay? Was the bed comfy enough?"

"Fuck you!" Howlite shouted at Jasper. "Why am I here!? What do you want from me?"

"I would tell you." Jasper relied as she stepped aside from the door. "But I believe he will give you a better answer."

Howlite could hear the sound of boots from beyond the doorway. As the sound began to get louder, Howlite recognized where that sound came from. In that instant, her mind flashed to Insidiae, she saw herself in a small cage. Hearing the sound of boots march down the halls of the colony. In that instant, Howlite began to scream. The Gem shrieked as she tried to break free, only to be held down by the chains that bound her. Suddenly, she stopped as she saw a figure enter the doorway. She stopped as she saw the monster that she hated before her.

"Hello Howlite." Diamond said to the Gem. "Welcome to our home."

Howlite growled as she tried to stand up, the chains still binding her. She watched helplessly as Diamond approached her, placing his hand on her face and turning it. As he examined the cracks on Howlite's face, he raised an eyebrow.

"I can see that my work has still left its mark on you." Diamond said to Howlite. "I am surprised to see that you are still alive. Emerald would be quite happy to hear tha-"

Diamond was interrupted by the sensation of Howlite spitting in his face. As he released her face to wipe his own. Jasper approached Howlite and punched the Gem in the face. Diamond then pointed his hand to the ground before Howlite and summoned a small stool, which he sat upon.

"I understand your anger with me." Diamond said as he locked eyes with Howlite. "But what you don't understand is that what I did, I did for our people.

"You…turned our people into…things." Howlite interjected with gritted teeth.

"They were experiments with Ichor, Howlite." Diamond explained. "I was studying the effects of Obsidian's powers on them. It is also the reason why I can up with the idea of "The Obsidian Virus". So much time had passed that by then, much of our people's history had become corrupted and forgotten. Well part of that was my doing though. I ordered my elite to suppress the knowledge of Gemians, the Metalians, and even Obsidian from all of your kind in the event of my...absence."

He then looked to Jasper with a glare before looking back to Howlite.

"But I digress, the experiments I made were failures. However, I did find them useful in hunting down Gems. Especially, the Secundo Quartz. However, despite my actions and those of my servant Vestibulum, a Furem managed to steal what belongs to me. While my Agates are hunting down Rose's power, I will now hunt for Topaz's."

Diamond then leaned toward Howlite. She could see the red in his eyes pulse like blood.

"Which brings us to this question: What did Lapis tell you?"

Howlite looked down for a moment as she thought carefully, knowing there was no way to escape. She knew what would happen if she refused to cooperate. She also knew what would happen if she did. With this in mind, she looked up to the Old King.

"She told me how much of a fucking old fruit you are." Howlite replied with a grin.

Jasper approach Howlite with the intent of punching her again, only for Diamond to point his palm to her, commanding her to stop. As Jasper backed away, Diamond stood up and walked over to the table, looking to the jar before him.

"I was expecting this resistance." Diamond said with a small sigh. "You have always been quite resistant, even on Insidiae. It is admirable..."

Diamond then opened the jar before him. As he did, an audible collection of hisses, clicks, and skittering could be heard from within the jar. Howlite's eyes widened as her face turned pale. In that instant she recognized what Diamond was about to do.

"…however, if you will not tell me what I need to know then I will resort to other methods of acquisition." Diamond continued as he reached into the jar. "And I believe if memory serves me right, you are familiar with a particular method, don't you?"

Howlite watched in horror as Diamond lifted his hand from the jar. In his hand was a long metallic worm like creature. The body of the creature had a round abdomen and a long bone like tail covered in blue fluid. The face of the insect was pointed and had a pair of sharp pinches with a pointed tip in between them. As Diamond lifted the creature to his view. He turned to Howlite, who immediately began to struggle.

"NO!" Howlite shouted, tears forming in her eyes. "NO! NOT THAT! NO!"

"So you remember?" Diamond asked as he held the creature in his hands. "I have has had a lot of time to make improvements since Insidiae. Now not only does it extract information, but it also extracts Vitae as well. If I recall though the others the process is...far more painful than before. I am not sure you will survive this time."

Diamond then turned to Jasper and nodded. Jasper then approached the Gem and grabbed her head with her hands, tilting it sideways as Diamond approached her. Howlite struggle and screamed, but it was no avail as Diamond held the creature next to her ear.

"Now, tell me what Lapis told you?" Diamond hissed at the cracked Gem. "Did it involve the location of Topaz?"

Howlite looked up to Diamond with tear soaked eyes and bore her teeth in rage towards him.

"Combustio apud in infernum, Monstrum!"

"So be it." Diamond replied as he lowered the creature to her ear. Just as he was about to make contact. An Agate charged into the room.

"[LORD DIAMOND…LADY ONYX HAS LOCATED LAPIS LAZULI.]"

Diamond stopped as he looked up to the Agate.

"Where is she?" Diamond asked the Gemdroid.

[SHE WAS SPOTTED BETWEEN SECTION 11.32 AND SECTION 34.]

"And Onychinos?" Diamond asked again.

[LADY ONYX IS IN PURSUIT…ALONG WITH AGATE SQUAD 224.]

Prepare several units for transport. If Onychinos fails to acquire her, initiate Operation: King's Bane. We cannot lose her."

[UNDERSTOOD LORD DIAMOND….THIS UNIT ALSO WISHES TO INFORM YOU THAT THE GEODE BOMB HAS BEEN EXTRACTED AND IS BEING RELOCATED.]

"Good." Diamond replied. "Assemble squad 98 and wait for my arrival."

The Agate saluted and exited the room. Diamond then turned his attention back to Howlite, pulling the creature away from her ear.

"It seems that I will not be needing your knowledge after all." Diamond said as he tilted his head slightly. "However, as a tactician, I think it would be wise to make precautions, don't you agree?"

With that, Diamond placed the creature on Howlite's head. The cracked Gem screamed as she felt the creature plunge into her ear. Jasper released Howlite and back away. Watching in shock and horror as Howlite shook violently within the confines of her chair. Grayish blood trickled from the cuffs as Howlite tried to break free from them. Her shrieks could be heard all through the temple. Jasper looked to Diamond, who was watching Howlite with a cold stare. He then turned and walked out the door. Jasper then looked to Howlite and then exited as well. Leaving the Cracked Gem alone, with only her screams as company.

[*]

Diamond and Jasper walked through the catacombs towards the other Agates. Jasper was still in shock over what just happened. She was a powerful Gem and a fearful warrior. She did not show mercy or compassion to those who defied the Diamond Authority. But this was different. What she saw was just cruel, even for a Gem traitor.

"Master, if I may ask…" Jasper asked carefully. "What that really necessary? I mean, what was the point in making her suffer like that?"

"Do you remember the Codex Jaspidis?" Diamond replied. "What is the fifth law of the Elite?"

"Mercy is only applied to those who apply it to you." Jasper replied. "But only to the expectation of the apex."

"Correct." Diamond replied. "We only show mercy to those who truly deserve it, and even then it is until they outlive their usefulness. Now what is the third law?"

"Those that stand below us are tools to build a bright future, and those that stand before us are the walls we must knock down." Jasper replied.

"Correct." Diamond replied. "We must do what we must for the greater good. The pathway to order is made by those who gave their lives for a brighter future, both ally and foe."

"I understand that Master." Jasper replied. "It's just-"

"…And what is the first law Jaspidis?" Diamond asked, looking to Jasper with a cold glare.

Jasper hesitated before answering.

"We are the harbingers of fear, but we are not bound by it. To carry the weight of hesitation and doubt will only cripple us. We serve without fear, without doubt, without empathy. "

"Good." Diamond replied as they arrived in a chamber with several Agates. "Now then, ensure the Humans do not escape. Is that clear?"

"Yes Master." Jasper replied as she lowered her head to him.

Diamond then stood between the Agates and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, the chamber vibrated and Diamond and the Agates vanished. Jasper looked around and ensured she was alone. She then slumped onto the floor and held her hands over her face. Trying to forget the horror she had witnessed while fighting back the emotions that she began to surface.

[*]

**5 hours later**

[*]

Jasper was still sitting in the same spot as she had been for the past few hours. Only to notice the presence of another. She looked up to see Pearl, who looked down to her with a look of disappointment.

"What are you looking at?" Jasper asked bluntly as she stood up.

"An empty shell." Pearl replied with a smirk. "You were more of a threat when we were actually enemies. Or should I say "assumed" enemies. It's actually funny to see one of the elite acting like this."

Jasper snarled at the long nosed Gem before her. "If you think I am weaker than you, we can prove that right now."

"No, if I fought you then two things would happen." Pearl explained as she turned away from Jasper. "You would be dead, and Master would punish me."

Jasper gave a puzzled look. "I would think that the daughter of Master Diamond would have more praise. But I guess you're no different than me."

"You're right about that." Pearl replied as she approached a nearby table, on it was a map of the various warp points in the Universe, as well as the locations of significance on earth. "I was created like the others, but instead of implanted Vitae, I was infused with his Vitae. I am his daughter only by blood. To him, I am just a tool, an instrument to be used as he sees fit."

Jasper approached Pearl only to stop when she heard faint screaming. She looked to the entrance of the chamber and cringed lightly.

"Do you know what the room Howlite is in was used for originally?" Pearl said as she turned to Jasper, who shook her head as she watched Pearl step closer to her, slowing approaching her like a beast to their prey.

"When I lost Steven's Gem, I realized that I lost Rose again. Too long had I grown to her ranks and gained her trust. Too long did I realized the horrors that I did and the people I hurt. I had finally realized that if Master found out that not only did I lose Rose's Gem again, but it was taken by a human, he would kill me."

Pearl stopped as she looked down, a tear of obsidian ran down her cheek.

"The next thing I remember was sitting in that room, holding the head of Steven to my breast, and Garnet standing above me with her hand on my Gem. After that, I remember waking up on Insidiae. With Onyx and Zirconia around me. It was after this did I realize that Master would not kill me, and he would ensure that I would live until he found no further use for me."

She then looked back up to Jasper, who backed up a little as Pearl gave her a smile.

"But I know that is what you are afraid of. You are afraid that Master will turn you into a _Filia Obsianas_, like me?"

Jasper hesitated, but she quickly recomposed herself.

"Yeah, I am afraid of that. But unlike you, I will embrace my fears and accept my fate. Not kill myself like some cowardly inbred freak with daddy issues."

Pearl twitched as the smile on her face was replaced with a sneer. Now it was Jasper who grinned at Pearl.

"Pinched a nerve there, "Vestibulum"?" Jasper asked Pearl. "What're you going to do about it?"

As Pearl was about to reach for her spear, there was a flash of light from the center of the chamber. As Jasper and Pearl looked to the light, there was Diamond, Onyx, and a large group of Agates. Upon the sight, Pearl and Jasper knelt before Diamond, who approached them.

"What has transpired here since I was gone?" Diamond asked Jasper.

"The Humans are still as they were." Pearl interjected. "But there is a problem…"

"What would that be?" Diamond asked.

Pearl looked to Jasper before looking to Diamond.

"The Humans outside the city."

[*]

**Beach City, City Limits, present day**

[*]

It was raining on the road to Beach City, but of course, it was no significance to what laid ahead. The road to the city was cut off by a barrier and makeshift wall composed of sandbags, barbed wire, and metal. A small array of tanks surrounded the barrier as well as a small platoon of solders. As solders scurried around the encampment. One of them approached a tent, as he went inside the tent, there was a man in a uniform looking over a map of Beach city. By the markings on his uniform, this man was apparently a Colonel of some sort

"Colonel Westing, Sir!" The solder saluted to the Colonel, who looked up and saluted to him.

"At ease son." Westing replied. "What is the status of the city?"

"Sir, we have been able to cut off all exits to Beach City, both by land and by Sea. The navy has sent a small fleet to assist in the blockade. We also have reports via satellite that there are civilians still inside the city."

"Is there any way we can enter undetected?" Westing asked the solder, placing his hand on his chin in thought.

"No sir. The city is locked tight. Not to mention the large amount of hostiles that are guarding the walls."

As Westing stood up and followed the solder outside, he looked to the city in the distance. Gesturing for a solder to hand him a pair of binoculars, the Colonel looked thought them to the city. He could see the destroyed city and the Agates surrounding the large temple. He then panned over to the water tower, seeing to his horror the hanging bodies that were being pecked at by gulls.

"Jesus Christ…" Westing said to himself as he panned back to the city. As he did, he saw a tall man with a long white beard and a blue suit walking out of the temple, who was known as Master Diamond. He then saw the Gemian turn towards him looking right in his direction, as if he was right in front of him. As Westing lowered his binoculars, he was startled by the same Gemian, who was now standing right before him. All the solders in the area quickly armed their weapons at Diamond, who looked around at the solders before him.

"Typical human nature." Diamond said with a tsk. "To use violence against things unknown to you."

"Hostile!" one of the solders shouted to Diamond, reading off a document before him. "We are the United States Armed Forces. You have been charged with the crime of terrorism and are violating the Gem-Earth alliance treaty…"

"You do not know the concept of my authority." Diamond interjected as he approached the solder. "Perhaps I should show you."

"…if you do not comply with our order of surrender, then we…we wi-will.."

The solder trailed off as he looked up to the Gemian that towered over him. Before the solder could finish, Diamond lifted the man off the ground and held him by his uniform. In that instant, the rest of the soldiers opened fire on the Gemian. When the solders stopped firing, the sound of crushed bullets fell to the ground like the raindrops beside them. Westing watched in shock as Diamond plucked a bullet that was lodged in his beard and looked at it. As he looked to the solder in his grasp, he dropped the bullet and pulled the solder closer to him. The solder watched in horror as Diamond's jaw split open, screaming at the top of his lungs as the Gemian latched into his neck. The other solders watched in horror as Diamond finished with an audible crack. As Diamond dropped the dead solder to the floor, he looked to the Colonel, his jaw retracting to its original state.

"Let your leader's know this: I have a bomb capable of destroying this city, and the cities surrounding it. If you try to invade my city, you will be killed. If you manage to help the residence of my city escape, I will detonate the bomb. If you warn the surrounding cities about this, I will detonate the bomb. My demands are simple: have the Furem known as Connie Maheswaran and the Gemian known as Topaz brought to me. I do not expect your cooperation with this, but keep in mind that I will have my Agates collect citizens from the nearby cities until they arrive. But I will be honest with you. Regardless of your choices two things will happen: I will collect what is mine, and your planet will be used to create my army."

The Colonel and his solders watched in shock as Diamond jumped over the barrier and began to walk back to the temple. The Colonel then turned to another solder, both of them white as a sheet.

"Get me General Manson." Westing said to one of his solders. "NOW!"

[*]

**Crystal Temple, Catacombs, present day**

[*]

As soon as Diamond set foot into the Temple. He was greeted by the sight of Pearl being thrown to the wall. As soon as she stood up, Jasper lunged at her, smashing her helmet into the pointy nosed Gem's lungs. As Pearl gasped for air, Jasper lifted her into the air and dropped her on her knee, creating an audible snap and dropping the Gem to the floor. As Jasper stood over Pearl. She looked down with a manic grin.

"Still think your better than me Pearl?" Jasper bellowed to the Gem before her. "I am a Diamond Elite, while you are a petty spy. What makes you think you're better than me?

As Pearl turned to look up to Jasper, she then looked to the right of the orange Gem. As Jasper turned the same direction, she turned pale at the sight of Master Diamond, staring at the sight before him with expression of surprise and anger, as one would upon finding out there dog had destroyed a valuable item.

"Master!" Jasper said as she knelt before the Gemian. "I can explain this."

As she looked up to Diamond. She could feel the anger emit from the glare that he was firing down at Jasper.

"Pearl attacked me first Master!" Jasper explained as she stood up. "I was defe-"

Diamond summoned his mace and smashed Jasper in the side of the leg. The Orange Gem shouted as she fell onto her back.

"I never granted you permission to stand without my consent." Diamond hissed as he pointed his mace at Jasper's face. "Nor did I grant you the authority to attack a superior."

"But Master!" Jasper pleaded to Diamond. "She attacked me, I had to defend myself."

"There is a difference between defense and crippling my servants." Diamond said as he knelt beside Jasper. "But I know why you attacked her: You are afraid of becoming like her, aren't you?"

Jasper gasped at the question. "But…how…"

"From the moment I started Howlite's torture, I saw the hesitation. That was the same look that Rose had before she betrayed me. No matter the reason, I never forgot that face, and I never forgot what it meant. Rest assured though, you will not become a Filia."

Jasper looked in confusion before Diamond grabbed Jasper by the face. As he did, he looked to Pearl and began to speak.

"_Apud in nomine Gema, DITOROQU, Gemmas, atque omnibus inferius. In hoc sum detrahetur ex te noscere, quamcumque fortunam subiré erit vobiset orate pro persequentibus edure. Jaspidis, Peto Cleri gemma vestris!_"

As soon as he finished, he clenched his hand over Jasper's Gem. The Orange Gem squirmed as Diamond's hand shined a bright orange. After a few moments, the light faded. Jasper opened her eyes to find that nothing seemed different.

"Master, what did-"

Before Jasper could finish, Diamond clenched his hand around Jasper's Gem and yanked hard, ripping off Jasper's Gem along with her whole upper lip. Jasper screamed as she rose up from the floor, spattering orange blood on Diamond's robe. Diamond then grabbed Jasper by the neck and split his jaw open, latching onto the bleeding ex-gem and draining her of her vitae. As soon as he finished. He pulled his hand back and plunged it into Jasper's chest. As Jasper felt Diamond rip her heart out, showing the Orange ex-gem her heart. Jasper made a small whimper before falling onto her side.

"Loyalist Gems, so easy to control." Diamond whispered to Jasper as he looked down to her body. "The Homeworld, Topaz's colonies, The Earth Gems, they're all just toys."

Diamond then stood up and turned to the crippled Pearl. His robe stained in orange blood, a Gem in his one hand and an orange heart in the other. He nodded his head and Onyx arrived, holding a vial of blue pate-like liquid.

"Tend to her." Diamond commanded as he handed her Jasper's hand. "Then give her an update about Lapis."

"Yes Master." Onyx replied as she moved over to Pearl.

Diamond then walked into the hallways, handing Jasper's Gem to an Agate before returning to Howlite's cell. As he entered the room, there was Howlite, weakened from the torture, with the creature resting on her lap, covered in grey bile.

Diamond watched as the creature crawled off Howlite and up Diamond's leg. It then moved up his robe onto his chest, in which it entered his right pectoral. Diamond then walked over to the table, summoned a plate and placed Jasper's heart on the plate. He then summoned a stool and sat on it. Summoning a knife and fork, the Old King began to cut chunks of the heart up and eat them.

"I wanted to inform you that Jasper is dead". Diamond turned to Howlite "If you wish to know how, I preformed "_Tua Gemma Remotionem_" on her. Do you know what that is?"

Howlite tried to move, but she was too weak from the torture. All she could do was look to Diamond and watch as he took another bite from the heart.

"It is an ancient Gemian ability. I found it to be quite useful after the Metalian war. With it, I can strip the Gem or Metalian of their source and change the physical forms into an organic body. Essentially it could turn an earthbound Gem into a human. I used this technique on the Metalians to acquire their powers and to convert Gems into Agates."

Howlite made a small whimper. Watching as Diamond finished the heart. He then summoned a cloth and wiped his mouth.

"The irony of what I did was that I once had to save Vestibulum from that very technique." Diamond scoffed as he stood up. "But I digress, I now have the information I seek for when I interrogate Lapis, and I will be sure to inform her about your cooperation."

As Howlite tried to move, she couldn't find the strength to do so, and watched with tear soaked eyes as Diamond extinguished the lights and slammed the door to the room. Leaving Howlite alone in the dark with nothing but her breath, and her light crying, to comfort her.

[*]

**Crystal Temple, Crystal Heart Chamber, present day**

[*]

Peridot observed the large Crystal Heart before her. Using her computers to analyze the heart and the energy within.

"Hmmm…Vitae reading are…over 500%...no…that can't be…unless…"

"...Unless this is the very heart of Gemia herself." Diamond interjected startling the green Gem who spun towards him.

"Diamond! How could you?" Peridot shouted at the Gemian giving him a light shove. "You could have given me a heart attack."

"We do not suffer from organic ailments. Remember?" Diamond reassured with a warm smile and chuckle. "Especially you."

"Ah…yes…forgive me." Peridot said with a blush as she rubbed her arm. "I had been around humans for so long that…er..."

Diamond chuckled lightly as the two of them looked up to the heart, gazing at the lights that danced within the chambers of the massive crystal organ. Peridot then looked to Diamond, noticing his eyes had changed from red to silver, as they did from time to time. Peridot then looked away, glancing at her hands, her metal mechanical hands.

"Peridot…" Diamond said, catching the attention of the green Gem. "I…I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" Peridot replied as she looked to Diamond.

Diamond sighed as he turned to Peridot and held her hands tightly among his own. Peridot looked at his hands before she looked to the Old King's face, which bore an expression of pain upon it. As he released her grip. Peridot looked at her hands, seeing a small stone with a symbol on it. Peridot recognized this as a Gemian warp stone, a device that allowed the user to warp to specific locations that were off limits to others, like a key of sorts. This stone has the symbol of Insidiae a six pronged star between a divided square.

**[*]**

Peridot eyes widened as she looked to Diamond. "Diamond…I…what is this for…?"

"I need you to go to Insidiae. It will have the security and provisions to keep you safe during this war." Diamond said to Peridot. "Once there, I will send signal to you if...I do not make it. If the signal activates, you need to send the rest of the Agate army to attack Tiberium's fleet. After that, I need you to activate the Kingsbane directive and evacuate. Do not return for me, just run, and run far away from this Universe, as far as you can, anything to be as far away from him...and me."

"Diamond…" Peridot said with a look of concern. "Why can't I stay? I can fight, and I can help improve your strategies. I can help you with the Furem, Topaz, and especially Tiberium."

"I know you can, I never doubted that." Diamond said as he turned away from Peridot. "But I…I…"

As Peridot approached the Old King, she could see his body shudder and could hear him gasping lightly.

"I…I cannot bear the though of losing you. Not just to the Tiberium or the Rebels...but to me as well." Diamond explained as he turned to Peridot, his eyes flowing with tears. "I have done unspeakable things in the name of protecting this Universe, but in doing so I have sacrificed the very people I had sworn to protect, my family, and now…even Jasper."

Peridot gasped lightly as she approached Diamond, noticing the orange stains on the base of his robe. However she more concerned with the well-being of her Gemian lover than the fate of a buff orange jerk. Especially since their last encounter was not so pleasant.

"Every day I fight the Leviathan's control and every day I fall further into its grasp. I am losing my memories, I personality is has become warped, and even now I can feel that horror beginning to control me, telling me to do things to you…terrible things."

Diamond then grabbed Peridot by she shoulders and looked into her eyes, which now began to flow with tears as well.

"Please Peridot, Do not ask me to endure the sight of you suffering by my hand. Do not!"

"I..I won't….I promise." Peridot replied to Diamond as she placed a hand on the side of his face.

Diamond grasped her hand hand sighed. Peridot then lowered her hand and the two turned back to the crystal heart. Peridot looked down in hesistation before she spoke. The green Gem felt her body warm as she took a deep breath.

"Diamond?" Peridot asked the Gemian, "...th-there is a favor I need from you...as well..."

"Of course." Diamond replied. "What is it you…"

Diamond's voice trailed off as he looked down into Peridot's eyes. The green Gem approached the Gemian and grabbed his robe, tugging the cloth in her hands before looking up to Diamond with a dark green blush on her face.

"Diamond…" Peridot whispered with a shutter as she gazed up to him "I…I need you…"

Diamond sighed as he took one of Peridot's hands and placed it on his chest. Peridot gasped lightly as she felt his heart beating, the rhythm matched that of the crystal heart.

"_Nos abduxerunt habeatis detrahendum temporis, sed tamen omnia quae ordine vos secutus est cor tuum..._" Diamond replied back as he pulled the green Gem closer to him. "_... Et meos amica mea._"

It was only a few moments before the two Gems embraced each other. Peridot felt a sensation of bliss and passion shoot though her body as Diamond kissed her. Falling onto the floor, Peridot gasped as Diamond lightly kissed her neck. The green Gem moaned as she felt his hands Brushing his hand across her back as he pressed a small section, causing her shirt and pants to dissipate, leaving a naked Gem with Metalian boots, gauntlets and a visor. Peridot looked at her hands and legs with a uncertain expression as she laid back on the ground below her and Diamond remove his robes. As he stood before her, Peridot gazed the body of the naked God before her. Scars and cuts covered his body, as well as the letters "DI" branded onto his right pectoral. As he leaned down towards her, she rose up and kissed his neck and then chest. Diamond gasped lightly at this sensation,and smiled as he kissed her on her forehead.

Peridot sat on Diamond, peering down at his mace with a look of desire. She then leaned forward and kissed Diamond. As she broke the kiss and leaned back however, Diamond imminently noticed her looking at her hands with a look of hesitation.

"Is everything alright Peridot?" Diamond asked with a look of concern. "Was it something I did?"

Peridot shook her head as she placed her hands on Diamond's shoulders. Diamond could feel her hands shake lightly, even her floating finger were shaking.

"I missed you so much Diamond." Peridot said as she broke from the kiss to look into Diamond's eyes. As she did, Diamond saw tears well up in her own. "When you left for earth and vanished...I thought you perished. But something told me you were alive...the authority had forgotten you, their creator. But I never could forget the one who freed me from Timberium, who saw not a machine, but a Gem...The others may have forgotten you...but I will never abandon you. I love you Diamond..."

As she looked to Diamond, she bit her lip as she looked away from him. Tears began to trickle down her face as she took a breath to compose herself.

"...but I had hoped that after all this time, and after your servants and allies, well..I hoping that you had found someone who was more...perfect..."

Peridot sniffled as she looked away and removed her visor to wipe her eyes. She stopped as she felt her metal hand caught by another. As she looked up, she saw Diamond looking to her with a gaze of surprise, tears formed in his eyes as he gave her a warm smile.

"Peridot...you are the only being I have known in my existence to have stolen my heart..." Diamond replied as he grasped both of her hand within his. "...and I intend to keep it that way until the end of time. No matter what happens,you are perfect to me, and no other Gem, Secundo, Gemian, or even Gemia herself cannot say otherwise. The years may of changed and we may change in many ways, but my love for you is absolute and forever."

Peridot smiled as she wiped her eyes with her hand and then gently push Diamond onto his back and positioned herself above his member. As she took a deep breath, she lowered herself onto him, feeling her Gemian enter her very being. As she began to thrust, she quickly began to grab onto the old king, attempting to gain control of the situation. Diamond quickly lead up herself and allowed her to bite into his neck, twitching lightly as she dug her fingers into his back.

"Diamond…I…I have...!" Peridot slurred as she released her grip on Diamond's shoulder, a mix of blue blood and drool trickled down from her mouth. "...Oh Gemia!...I need!...I'm going to...to...!"

"It is alright my Peridot." Diamond said as he stroked her face with his hand. "Do not hold yourself back, embrace me in full, and I shall do the same."

Diamond pulled Peridot closer to him, allowing the Green Gem to grab onto him tighter and thrust harder, Peridot shouted in pleasure as she slammed into her Gemian lover, biting into his neck and he grasped her breast. As Peridot felt the rhythm begin to move faster, which was matching the beat of the Crystal Heart. Eventually, the sound of a young Gem's moans joined the rhythm. Followed by loud screams as the climax reached its peak. she wrapped her legs around Diamond's back, she wrapped her legs around Diamond, forcing him to release within his Lover. As she felt Diamond pull out of her, she slumped onto his body and the two embraced once more.

[*]

Steven's house, Interior, 3 hours later

[*]

Diamond and Peridot approached the warp pad. Diamond walked Peridot onto the pad. Clasping her hands within his.

"Remember, if anything happens to me, activate the army, initiate Kingsbane, and evacuate Insidiae." Diamond informed the Green Gem before him. "Don't return to earth, or homeworld, You are to leave as far away from his planet, and this Universe, as possible. Understood?"

"I…yes…" Peridot said as she looked down, tears flowing down her cheeks. As she felt a hand lift her gaze to meet his, she saw his eyes well up as well.

"_Peridot cor meum ad per sunt semper estqui est vobis._" Diamond said softly with a smile.

Peridot smiled "_Te amo._"

As the two embraced in a final kiss. As Diamond's lips parted from Peridot's, the Old King backed away from the warp pad. Peridot gave Diamond a slight grin of concern before she lifted the warp stone in her hand. In that instant, the warp pad activated and Peridot vanished. Diamond gave a sigh of relief as he walked outside to overlook Beach City. The rain had stopped and Diamond could see the sun start to rise over the horizon. As he could see the city and the small military camp in the distance. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small dead rose. Looking to it, his eyes changed from silver to red as he looked up to the sky with a cold, tearful glare.

"_Peridot Ignoscite mihi, mei et cor meum et scientes quoniam sit semper vobiscum._"

As he gazed upward to the stars. He did not notice the spirit of a certain pink Gem behind him. Who gave a look of sympathy before vanishing into the house.

[*]


	4. The Deal

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: HikumiRin

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 4: A Deal with The Old King

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp, Resident District, 4 weeks later.**

[*]

Things for the residents of Beach City were difficult but manageable. In the past few weeks, the entire city was reorganized and divided into four sections: First, there was the Resident Camp, which was where the residents of Beach City were contained under the watch of Zirconia. Then there was the Physical Labor Camp. Using a lottery system, the Agates selected citizens to be used for manual labor, the purpose for this was unknown, but it was likely that it had something to do with the third section, The Agate Factory. Using the abandoned buildings, the Agates forced residents into creating more Agates. And lastly, there was the Temple District. This section was off limits to all but those chosen by Diamond or his servants.

For many of the residence, despite the beatings, exhausting labor, and oppressive leadership, it wasn't too bad. They were fed regular and allowed limited freedom in regards to entertainment and expression. However, they were cautious about their actions with the Agates watching them from above, fearing that they would be carried off to their graves at any minute. However, several Agates instead floated down with several residents. Two of which were known as Lars and Sadie. As soon as the Agates released them, the duo fell to their knees in exhaustion. Several residents approached them with water and several slices of bread.

"Thanks…" Sadie said as she took a sip of water.

"About time!" Lars groaned as he swiped the bread out of his provider's hand. Snarfing it down as quickly as he could. He then noticed Sadie looking at him with a look of disappointment.

"Whub?" Lars asked Sadie with a mouthful of before swallowing. "I've been hauling stone and concreate blocks all day. Excuse me if I get a little hungry."

"You know, for once you could think of someone other than yourself!" Sadie commanded as she stormed up to the tall boy before her, poking a finger in her chest. "You are just as immature as when we were teens!"

Lars held his hands up in a mocking defense. "Oh! Well excuse me, Ms. "Let's fight the robot army instead of leaving this fucking hellhole". Please forgive me for squandering your divine wisdom."

As the two glared at each other, they heard the sound of air being blown through a tube as they looked to see a familiar face roll in. It was the former Mayor Dewey, confined to a wheelchair on account of his…er…"attempt to fight off the evil invaders." *sigh*.

"Now now you two, let's not turn on each other here" Ex-mayor Dewey interjected as he moved his head in a motion as if he was waving a finger. "There is not "I" in team you know."

Lars and Sadie gave Dewy a disgruntled glare before moving on back to camp. The encampment was nothing truly special. It was composed of the resident housing and several makeshift huts. Among those were several makeshift beds surrounding a small fire Lars and Sadie eventually returned to the ruins of the Big Doughnut, the sigh and massive doughnut were gone and the windows were boarded shut.

As Lars and Sadie entered the building, Sadie walked over to the counter and lit a lamp that was sitting on said counter. She then turned around to see Lars on the floor in a tattered blanket, sleeping like a drunk baby that was hooked on sleeping pills. Sadie then laid down next to him, watching him sleep soundly before drifting off as well. As her mind faded from reality, she began to dream. In dream, she found herself on an island, the very island that Steven took Lars and her a long time ago. It was still amazing to think that a pair of fourteen year olds and a ten year old boy demigod could survive for as long as they did, especially since Sadie intentionally trapped them there for a while. Sadie found herself sitting on the beachside with Lars, with Lars asking her if she was lonely and then kissing her, but what was different was that unlike last time, Steven was not there to interrupt them. As Sadie embraced her feelings, she felt a quick shake rip her back into reality.

"Sadie wake up!" Lars said as he was shaking her.

Sadie looked to Lars, who had a expression of worry on his face. "Lars…what's wrong?"

"It's Jenny!" Lars said with a worried tone. "Her family was just dropped off."

"What?" Sadie said as she rose onto her feet. "Where are they?"

[*]

Lars and Sadie arrived just in time to see the entirety of Jenny's family. It was only a short while ago did they leave Beach City, only to be brought back to a bigger nightmare. Kofi continued to shout at the Agates that surrounded them, only to get silence in response. Jenny was leaning over a crying Kiki.

"They were just hanging there!" Kiki sobbed hysterically. "They were just hanging there…like rotting meat….why? Why are they doing this?"

Nanafua simply sat on the ground, her eyes closed as she seemed to be meditating.

"You cannot do this to us!" Kofi shouted at the Agate before him, pointing his finger at the lens of the machine. "My family did not leave this city to be dragged back into it! I demand to speak to Dewey!"

"[THIS CITY IS UNDER CONTROL OF MASTER DIAMOND…ANY PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION HAD BEEN TERMINATED…PLEASE RESTRAIN YOURSELF OF THIS UNIT WILL USE EXCESSIVE FORCE.]"

"Then let me speak to this "Master Diamond" then trashcan!" Kofi replied. "I want to know why my family was taken back to this hellhole?"

"Because you belong here." A voice replied behind Kofi, drawing his attention as well as the rest of his family and the bystanders. There before them was Zirconia, the white skinned black-eyed woman that Lars encountered at the Big Doughnut several weeks ago. Beside her was a Agate and another figure, a certain long nosed Gem known by many of the residents as Pearl. As Pearl looked at the surroundings, she noticed Lars and Sadie staring right at her. Lars had a look of fear on his face while Sadie gave a look of malice.

"Belong here?" Kofi said with a scoff as he approached Zirconia. "Who do you think you are to decide that?"

"My purpose is to ensure the protection and efficiency of the residents of Beach City." Zirconia replied with a smile, tilting her head slightly. "This applies to all of them, past…and present."

Kofi then watched as several Agates appeared in the sky and landed to the side of the two, carrying with them several people. As Zirconia looked to the Agates, she jolted her head upwards. Two of the Agates then flew away with their captives.

"Where are you talking them?" Jenny asked as she approached her father.

"They are going to the Labor District." Zirconia responded. "Your Father and sister are both going to the Factory District." Zirconia then gestured upward as a Agate flew down and grabbed Kiki. The girl screamed as she tried to break free. Jenny and Kofi ran to Kiki, but the Agate flew away before they reached her.

"Kiki…" Kofi whispered as he watched his daughter disappear into the distance. He could see a large building in the distance, what appeared to be an old abandoned factory, with smoke emerging from the smokestacks. He then turned to Zirconia, tears flowing in his eyes.

"Don't worry, you will see your child again." Zirconia said with a smile. "Once she finishes her work load, she will be returned her until her next task. We have no desire to kill her, but if we have to, we must. You clearly saw what happened to the Fry man's family, didn't you?"

As Kofi was about to speak, He looked at the Agates that surrounded them, as well as his frightened daughter. He then lowered his head as an Agate approached him and carried him off.

"Dad!" Jenny shouted as she reached for her father, only to watch him fly away in the same direction as Kiki. As Jenny turned back to Zirconia, she saw the gem looking down to the sitting Nanafua.

"Get up." Zirconia commanded the old woman, who did not respond.

"I said get up Human!" Zirconia commanded again, irritated by the silence. "I will have no problem killing an old creature like you."

Without hesitation, Zirconia, who then brandished a pair of katars and pointed them at the old woman, who was still unmoved. Pearl looked with concern, wondering if this was either a trap or some sort of response.

"You seem to have given up on your life, haven't you?" Zirconia said with a grin. "Do you wish to die so soon?"

"Do you know the history of Ghana People's coup?" Nanafua asked the Gem. "It is quite an interesting story."

Zirconia looked to Pearl before looking back to the old woman. "I don't care about your people's history, but if you don't get u-"

"A long time ago in the country of Ghana, the people were once oppressed by a Government that promised freedom and change, but only to their own agenda." Nanafua explained to the Zirconia. "After they won, the people they built a new government that followed true peace and true change. To prevent such corruption and evil from harming them ever again."

Before Zirconia could respond, Nanfua stood up to the Gems before her.

"When you're kind came to this planet and you tried to control us. Our people, the people of earth, had to act in the same way as the people of Ghana. While there were other Gems who helped protect us, it wasn't enough. Just like Ghana, we had to create an order to ensure protection from your kind."

Zirconia's eyes widened as she began to understand what this human was talking about. As Pearl looked to Zirconia, she looked to Nanfua, who placed her hands behind her head, burying them into the grey bun of hair on her head.

"Today, they have disbanded, no longer needed thanks to Rose Quartz. But now, I think it's time to do things old school, am I right?"

"Stop her!" Zirconia shouted as an Agate pounced at Nanafua. The old woman then pulled her hands from her hair, causing her hair to fall down as she held a strange looking rifle in her hands. It was square in shape and small in size. The barrel was folded with a round joint holding it to the stock, which had an engraving of a cracked Diamond. Nanafua flicked her wrist and the rife unfolded, a small light hum could be heard as she fired it at the Gemdroid, a blue pulse like ripple emerged from the Gun and shot through the Agate, shattering it into pieces. Nanafua spun the barrel of the rifle several times before she fired the gun at the other Agates as they tried to stack her. She then wound it up as she aimed it at Pearl and Zirconia, who dissipated her weapons and raised her hands up. Nanafua

"Impossible…" Pearl said as she slowly approached Nanafua, stopping when the woman aimed her gun at her. "How did you…? How could I not…you're…a…."

"Seems you weren't the only one playing spy, weren't you?" Nanafua said as she wound the base end of the gun. "Now, get my son and granddaughter over her right now, or I'll reduce you both to mush."

[*]

**Steven's House, Interior, present day**

[*]

Master Diamond was looking at several maps on a table with Onyx across from him, along with several Agates. The maps consisted of Beach City with marking that divided the city, a map of the earth with various marks in several colors. Another consisted with a complex map that seemed to consist of several planets, with several of them marked with a large "x" over it.

"…and with Lapis we will be able to acquire the oceans and divert them to the factories." Diamond said as he placed his hand over the map of the earth. "I can then use the water to improve the production of the Kindergartens and a way to remove intruders. However, our biggest priority is to find Topaz and the Furem."

"Master, if I may ask, but I don't understand why we don't just kill their leaders and control the planet." Onyx asked as she looked up from the table. "We clearly can overpower them."

Diamond looked up to Onyx and without warning, he grabbed her by the back of the head and slammed her head onto the table. As he held her head down, he then bent down to her.

"Do you remember how many humans are on this planet?" Diamond hissed into her ear. "Even with the Agates, we would be out numbered 45,000,000 to 4, and remember that the primary army is dealing with Tiberium. Until I acquire Topaz and Rose's power and the power of Obsidian. Our preservation is the higher priority. Is that clear?"

As Onyx nodded, an Agate rushed into the house, catching the attention of Diamond.

"Let me guess…" Diamond said as he released Onyx. "…another human is rebelling?

"[YES MASTER…ONE OF THE HUMANS HAS DESTROYED SEVERAL AGATES AND IS HOLDING MASTER PEARL AND MASTER ZIRCONIA.]"

Diamond's eyes widened with surprise as he approached the Agate.

"A…lone human is doing this?"

"[YES MASTER…SHE IS USING A MODIFIED WEAPON…SCANS INDICATE IT USES A SONIC ASSAULT BLOCH EMISSION RIFLE.]"

Diamond looked away from a moment and processed the information before looking to the Agate.

"Take me to her."

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp, Resident District, present day.**

[*]

Diamond landed to see the shattered Agates parts littered around the ground. He then saw the short old woman with long grey hair and round glasses with a rifle pointed at his two servants. As Diamond approached the woman, she noticed the Gemian and directed her attention to him. As he looked to her, Diamond was reminded of a tall woman with long brown hair and a brown uniform that carried a similar rifle. He then saw two Agates carrying Kiki and Kofi down to the woman. As the two hugged, they ran over to Nanafua, who aimed her weapon at the Old King

"Gunga Nanafua, it has been a while, hasn't it?" Diamond said as he summoned his mace. "I have not seen you since…I believe it was…1961? I even see you managed to create a family."

"Mother, you know that…man?" Kofi asked Nanafua as he crouched behind her.

"Kofi, take the kids and go." Nanafua commanded.

"What?" Kofi said with a look of shock. "You can't possibly fight him. How can you go against one of them?"

Nanafua looked to Kofi and gave him a kiss on his forehead. She then noticed Lars and Steven and gave them a light nod. Sadie approached the family and took Kiki by the shoulders, escorting the crying girl away from the scene. Lars then approached Jenny and did the same.

"Dad, we gotta go!" Jenny shouted to Kofi.

"We are not leaving you here!" Kofi shouted at his mother, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"I will be fine Kofi." Nanafua said as turned back to Diamond. "Besides, this is between me and him."

Lars and Sadie moved over and grabbed Kofi. Escorting him back as they all watched the standoff between the Gemian and the old woman.

"I am surprised to see a G.E.R.M agent here in my city." Diamond said as he slowly walked around Nanafua, who had her rifle aimed at the Old King like a hawk with their prey. "I though you all disbanded after that treaty was made. Perhaps trust was never a factor?"

"They are, but even though they took me out of G.E.R.M, they never could take G.E.R.M out of me." Nanafua replied with a small smile.

"That can be arranged." Diamond growled. "It's a shame you never had an apprentice before the disbanding. All those talents, wasted to protect a corrupt ideal."

"Who says I still don't?" Nanafua said with a grin.

Diamond twitched before he rushed at Nanafua. As the woman fired her rifle at the Gemian, he was able to dodge the first three attacks, but was hit in the arm by the forth. As he landed on the ground, he looked at his lower left arm, watching as it dissolved into a light blue pile of goo. He then looked to Nanafua as she wound up her weapon.

"Impressive that your kind still know how to harm us after all these years." Diamond said as he summoned his mace with his free hand. "However, I trust the lack of interactions has resulted in a lack of awareness. Which means that only a fraction of humans will know about this."

"Not for long." Nanfua replied as she wound the barrel of her rifle again. "As you have demonstrated, there will always be those who look to the old way of things."

With a scowl on his face, Diamond raised his mace and slammed it to the ground, creating a small quake and causing Nanafua to stumble and drop her rifle. Diamond then dropped his mace, dashed forward and grabbed Nanafua by the neck. He then pulled her towards him.

"I must thank you for reminding me how much of a thorn your little group has been in the past, but that ends now!" Diamond hissed to Nanafua as he squeezed the old woman's neck. "Now you will tell me the location of your apprentice, and all the other G.E.R.M solders, or I will butcher your son piece by piece, but not before I force him and you to watch me rape and torture your grandchildren!"

"I am afraid that my…memory is not as good as it used to be." Nanafua gasped. "What is this Germ you speak of? Are you sick?"

Diamond growled as he split his jaw open, preparing to suck the Vitae out of Nanafua. However, Nanafua then flicked her tongue in her mouth and popped a tooth out. Biting it, she felt her cheeks puff up and her through burn as Diamond was about to bite down. Before Diamond could react, Nanafua opened her mouth and shot a small flame right into Diamond's face. The old king let out a loud hiss and skree as he threw Nanafua aside and grasped his burning face. Nanafua fell to the ground with a loud thud. There was even a small crack

"YOU LITTLE PYTHONISSAM!" Diamond shouted with a strained voice. "YOU DARE USE…fire…salts?"

Diamond looked at his hand as he saw small red-orange crystals and black soot on his fingers. He then looked to Nanafua with an expression of concern. As he looked to Pearl and Zirconia, then the three Gems vanished. Several Agates then swooped in and broke up the crowd.

Kofi and his daughters quickly rushed over to Nanafua, lifting her up and taking her to one of the buildings in the district.

**Beach City Containment Camp, Medical Residence, present day.**

[*]

The arcade was barren of the joy and wonder that once filled its halls, having replaced the games with makeshift beds and crates of rations and medicine. Many of the electronic supplies were taken by the Agates to be used for unknown purposes. Many of the beds were filled with residence of beach city, weak and wounded from working in the labor and factory districts. A handful of people who worked at the Beach City Hospital now worked for the residence, exchanging a paycheck for protection from the Agates.

As Lars, Sadie, and the Pizza family rushed into the building, they rested the weak Nanafua on a bed. Quickly, several of the aids started to work on her. Kofi sat on a barrel and waited with anticipation, his daughters beside him. Lars and Sadie sat across from them, Lars then looked to Jenny and extended his hand to her. As Jenny looked to it and then to Lars, she felt the tears roll down her face as he wrapped her arms around Lars. Lars felt his blood rush to his face as he awkwardly patted her back. Just then, a doctor approached them, he give a small sigh as he rubbed his hands together. In that instant, Kofi and his daughters feared for the worst.

"She has a concussion from the attack and the stress caused a stroke." The doctor said as he rubbed his face with his hands. We have done everything we can to…make her comfortable."

Kofi instantly felt his stomach sink as Kiki hugged her father and wept loudly, only to be drowned out by the crying of Kofi. After several minutes of crying from the family. They were able to compose themselves and were escorted by the doctor through the residence. The family, Lars and Sadie looked around at their surroundings, seeing the various residents around them. Lars and Sadie even recognized Fryman, sitting on a bedside while looking off in the distance, towards the watertower. Eventually the five were brought to Nanafua, who was lying in a bed. She coughed as she opened her eyes to see her family, and Lars and Sadie.

"Mother…" Kofi muttered tearfully as he knelt down to her side. "Why did you do that?"

"What do you think knucklehead?" Nanafua said with a laugh, followed by a cough. "For you and the children."

"Ganga, what was that Gem guy talking about?" Kiki said as she too knelt before her grandmother. "Did you meet him before?"

Nanafua nodded as she coughed again. Kofi picked up a small bottle of water and held it to his mother's mouth. Nanfua took a large drink before she spoke.

"When I was much younger, before you were born Kofi, I was selected to be part of a special organization for earth."

Nanafua coughed loudly as Kofi handed her another bottle of water. She took a sip before she continued.

"Yeah, he call you a G.E.R.M agent." Lars said as he rubbed his shoulders. "Whatever that means?"

"What was he talking about Ganga?" Jenny asked Nanafua. "You never told us that you were some sort of agent."

Nanafua took a deep breath, followed by a small cough, before she spoke.

"In the early days of Earth, the Gems and their leaders, the Gemians, took their civil war to Earth, fighting over the bountiful resources our planet had, especially the vast amount of Vitae, then life source of all living things. Diamond had lead a small army to the planet to harvest it, only for the Gemians known as Rose Quartz and Topaz to stop him. However, even after his defeat and the following invasions by the homeworld, our people needed a way to defend ourselves without reliance from Rose. It was then that the Gemian Eradication and Radical Movement, otherwise known as G.E.R.M, was created."

"So you knew about the Gems…I mean…personally?" Sadie asked.

Nanafua nodded. "I was chosen because of my resourcefulness, you saw a little of that at that party way back. The one that Steven-boy threw."

"But what about your apprentice?" Sadie asked again. "Are there more agents out there?"

"We are a dying breed, only a handful remain." Nanafua gasped as she coughed again. "However, I knew that the Gems would attack again, so I had trained an apprentice in secret. One who could carry my knowledge about the Gemians in case of another attack."

"Mother, who is it?" Kofi asked Nanafua. "Please."

"Alright Alright, no need for the dramatics." Nanafua chuckled as she coughed. She then reached into her robe pocket and pulled out a small brown booklet with the same cracked Diamond on the cover. As she weakly handed the book to Kofi, he took it and open it, with, Jenny, Kiki, Lars, and Sadie looking over his shoulders, they all saw a photo of a young woman in a military uniform, carrying the same type of rifle that Nanafua used. She was sitting on a deactivated Agate with a hole in its chest and a part of its head missing. Alongside her were three others, a tan skinned girl with freckles, a brown haired man with a bandage over his eye, and an African American man with an afro and a cigar. In the corner of the picture, there were the words "G.E.R.M Assault Squad Witchgod, Cuba, April 18, 1961. "_De siderum fetus uruntque!_"

"Ganga…that was you?" Jenny asked as she looked at the photo with a look of disbelief.

Nanafua nodded as she reached over and turned the page. There was a much more modern photo of Nanafua with a young boy in a uniform and a tall man with short brown hair, a long moustache, and an eyepatch. The boy was short and had an awkward smile on his face, come to think of it, he had a look that resembled Jamie the mailman.

"Hey, that's Jamie!" Sadie exclaimed as she pointed to the smiling boy. "He's your apprentice?"

"Yep." Nanafua replied with a soft cough. "I trained him in secret. Sent him on mission under the guise of a Mailman. The man with us is Sam, he is an old squad mate and a good friend. Find them and let them know…"

Nanafua coughed violently as Kofi rushed up to her and held her hand. As he felt fresh tears flow from his eyes, he listened to his mother's dying words.

"…let him…know…the stars are looking to us. Once…mor-"

Kofi felt Nanafua's grip soften as her hands grew cold. As Kofi looked to his mother, he saw her eyes had glazed over and her face was silent. Without a word, Kofi placed his hands over Nanafua's eyes and closed them. He then gritted his teeth before burying his head in his mother's chest, weeping loudly as he grieved for the loss of his mother.

[*]

Hours had passed after the ceremony. Kofi stood before the makeshift grave, a simple dirt pile with a cinderblock as a tombstone, engraved into the stone were the words "Ganga Nanafua Pizza: Febuary 10th 1931- September 21st 2015. "_Da gave soro nni bi ko._"

As Lars and Sadie watched the family mourn in the distance. Lars looked to the sniffling Sadie and then back at the Pizza family.

"Fuck this!" he muttered to himself as he marched back to the field where Nanafua fought Diamond. Seeing the rifle that Nanafua used sitting on the ground, he walked over and picked it up. Examining the weapon and winding the barrel, he turned to see Sadie in front of him.

"Lars, what are you doing?" Sadie exclaimed to the teen before her. "You can't go up fight Diamond, even Nanafua couldn't stand a chance."

"Well sometimes it takes a young man to do an old…woman..er…solder's…job." Lars said with hesitation. "Besides, she weakened him, I can finish the job."

"Lars wait!" Sadie shouted as she tried to grab Lars, only for him to brush her off.

Sadie watched as Lars marched away with rifle in hand.

"Lars…" Sadie muttered to herself, worrying for what was going to happen.

[*]

Spinning the barrel like a crank on a wheel, Lars armed his rifle as he reached the entrance of the Temple District, he was blocked by two Agates.

"[HALT! THE TEMPLE DISTRICT IS RESTRICTED TO GEM ACCESS ONLY…FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN-]"

Lars shot the Agate into pieces with a blast of the rifle. He then aimed the rifle at the other Agate, who raised its arms in surrender.

"[THIS UNIT IS AWARE OF THE ORGANIC AND IT'S ADVANTAGE…THIS UNIT WILL COMPLY WITH COMMANDS.]"

"Good…Now then…" Lars said with a cool tone as he cranked the rifle. "Take me to your leader."

[*]

**Steven's House, Interior, present day,**

[*]

Diamond sat on a bench with his robe removed as two robonoids scurried around his body. Gently lathering his remaining stump of an arm with Gem fluid. With him were Zirconia, Pearl, and Onyx.

"I never expected for that human to be a G.E.R.M agent." Pearl said as she paced the room. "How could I miss that?"

Diamond glared at Pearl, he then looked to Zirconia. The two Gems looked down as they felt Diamond's glare pierce them.

"I never expect that my two servants would be no match for an old human." Diamond growled. "I would expect more from my Agates, at least they responded, you two just stood there like idiots?"

Zirconia bowed to Diamond "Forgive me Master, it won't happen again."

"I hope so, because you are responsible for this new colony." Diamond hissed. "If anything happens, it will be your head under my boot. Is that clear?"

Zirconia looked up as she felt burning tears roll down her face, as they did, Zirconia began to look around in confusion. Diamond noticed this and gestured for a Peal to approach her.

"Tend to your daughter." Diamond commanded coldly. "I cannot recall the last time she was "revised"."

Pearl nodded and walked over to Zirconia away trough the Gem door in the back. Leaving Diamond alone with Onyx.

"Was she a remnant of G.E.R.M?" Onyx asked her Master. "Do you think they are more?"

"I know there are Onychinos." Diamond said as he bruised his chin. "I just have to find out where."

He then looked to Onyx and his eyes widened in curiosity.

"Onychinos, I have a task for you."

"What is it master?" Onyx asked.

"Although I do not want you to kill the human leaders, I want you to spy on them." Diamond explained. "You will use _Mortalia Larva _to take the guise of a human, you will then infiltrate their military base and find any information about G.E.R.M and the whereabouts of their members. Then you will hunt them down and kill them. Any G.E.R.M technology is to be destroyed on sight. Is that clear?"

"Yes Master." Onyx bowed as she rushed to the warp pad. "I will not fail you."

"I know you won't." Diamond replied. "Don't prove me wrong."

As he watched Onyx teleport away. He sighed as he looked around the house. His eyes then cam to the painting of Rose Quartz that stood before the door way. As he looked at it. He felt a small pang in his chest.

"It has to be done Rose, you know as well as I do that the Universe need this." He explained to the painting. "What I am doing is the right thing to do…it….has to be…yes…it has to…"

The next thing he knew, Diamond watched as the door slammed open and a young boy with a odd haircut holding a rifle in his hands stood before the Gemian. Diamond looked to Lars with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you the apprentice?" Diamond asked as he scanned Lars with his eyes. "You don't seem like one."

"Shut up Gramps!" Lars said to Diamond. "This is not up for discussion, you are going to open that gate and let us out of here! Or I'll-"

"You will what?" Diamond asked as he sat up and walked over to Lars. As he approached the boy, Lars shuttered at the height of the Old King, who towered over him with a menacing glare.

"I-I'll sh-shoot you." Lars shuddered, feeling sweat rush down his brow. "This gun wi-will kill you…and I know how t-t-to shoot it."

Diamond gave a small smile as he raised his remaining hand and folded his fingers. In that instant, the rifle was ripped out of Lars's hands and floated into Diamond's hand. He examined the weapon before looking to Lars.

"I don't think so." Diamond said as he clenched his hand, breaking the gun in two.

Lars felt his stomach drop and the blood drain from his face as he watched the rifle parts fall to the floor with a loud thud. He the watched as the stump over his left arms suddenly shined brightly and a new arm shot out from the stump. As Diamond moved the arm around and examined it, he looked to Lars and used his new arm to grab him by the neck.

"I find you fascinating human." Diamond said to Lars as he lifted him up into the air. "I would expect this type of attack from the G.E.R.M agent, not a mere human. In fact, I may have use for you."

"Fuck you!" Lars replied. "I already worked for a jerkoff before you came along. What makes you think I will work for another?"

"Because of what I can do to you." Diamond replied as he brought Lars closer to his face. "Especially with what I have learned about you."

Lars froze as he glared at the Gemian, who looked back at him with a cold stare.

"How…what are you talking about?" Lars said as he backed away. "You don't know me."

Diamond then rushed up to Lars and placed his hand on his head. The next thing Lars knew, he felt the inside of his head burn. Lars screamed as he tried to pry off Diamond's hand, but he was no match for the Old King's strength.

"When I placed my hand upon you, I was able to read your memories. You human's think that you can hide things from us. Our people can read you like books, place ideas into your minds. It's how we controlled you for the past few centuries. It is the reason why your species cannot have free will, they were never meant to have it in the first place."

As Lars cited through the pain in his mind, he heard Diamond speak once more.

"Ah…there it is…" Diamond said as he looked to Lars. "This memory though is most fascinating. Let's look closer, shall we?"

As he released Lars from his grip, the young boy fell to his knees, gasping as he recollected himself. When he looked back up, he saw a sight that made his stomach drop. Between him and Diamond was a light grey hologram of a child standing before him. The child looked a lot like Lars, but with longer hair. The child looked to the floor with hesitation before looking back up. Lars then saw an image of a man appear before the child. Lars recognized him as his father.

"_Laura, is everything alright?" the man asked the child. "Your teacher said that you got into a fight with another student, now this is the fourth time this month. What is going on?"_

"_It's nothing dad." Laura said as she looked away from him. "I…I was just angry that's all."_

"_Angry at what?' Laura's father said as he grabbed her arm. "At the student, did he do something to anger you?"_

"_He…he flirted with me." Lara said as she rubbed her arm. "I told him that I don't like him and he called me a freak."_

"_Sweetheart, I told you that violence is not the answer." Laura's dad explained as he crouched down to her eye level. "But why would he call you a freak for liking girls, there are other girls at the school who are lesbians. What did you tell him exactly?"_

_Laura looked up to her father, he could see a large expression of pain in her eyes. Lars could see the pain as well, he felt his heart pang as he eyes welled up with tears._

"_Dad…I…I don't feel right..." Laura wimpered with a sniffle. "I just…I don't feel like…I want to be like this…I-I can't…I…"_

_The next thing Laura knew, she felt the embrace of her father's body wrapped up around her. As she felt his hug, she felt fresh tears roll down her face._

"_It's okay Laura…I understand." Her father said to her. "You feel trapped and you want to change who you are, is that right?"_

_As he pulled away and looked into Laura's eyes, she wiped her eyes and nodded lightly. Laura's father smiled as he kissed her on the forehead. _

"_It's going to be okay Laura." Her father said as he hugged her again. "I'll speak to a few doctors and we can start medication right away."_

"_Th-thank dad." Laura sniffled as she gave a faint smile. "I'm sorry for…"_

"_It's all right sweetheart, we'll get through this." Laura's dad said with a smile. "But first, is there anything I have to do to help you through this?"_

_Laura pondered for a moment before looking to her father. "Well, I would like to be called a different name."_

"_Alright." Laura's father replied with a smile. "What do you prefer?"_

_Laura looked to her father with a more confidant gaze before she replied._

"_I want to be called-"_

The Holograms dissipated before Lars, leaving him on his knees with tears in his eyes. Diamond then approached him and knelt before him.

"-Lars." He finished. "You modified your physical form."

Lars looked to Diamond and gave a light nod.

"Pathetic."

Lars jolted up and swung a fist at Diamond. The fist made contact with Diamond's face but it seemed ineffective as Lars pulled his fist away. As Lars rubbed his hand, he saw Diamond towering over him again.

"Your kind are blinded by such petty corruption. You wish to alter your forms and modify your appearances and physiology for what purpose? Admiration? Attraction? Comfort? Such ideals are pointless and distracting. However, in this case it has an advantage..."

Diamond then grabbed Lars and slammed him into a wall.

"...because you will find the G.E.R.M agent in this colony and you will kill him."

"F-F-Fuck you!" Lars replied as he spit blood onto Diamond. He then wiped his face with his hand and looked at it.

"Did you know that a Gemian can alter the chemical balance in a living creature? I can alter levels of neurotransmitters, hormone levels…even testosterone."

Lars eyes widened as he processed what he just heard.

"No…" Lars replied with a whimper. "You can't…"

Diamond looked to Lars as he showed him his hand. Lars watched in horror as the blood collected in the center of his palm and evaporated. Causing the smell of burnt blood to flow into his nostril and cause his eyes to water.

"I can and I will. If you do not do as I say, then I will take away the identity you care so much for. I will return you to your true form…." Diamond then brought his face closer to Lars. "…and I will rape you. Again, and again, and again."

Diamond then dragged Lars over to the entrance of the house and through him out the door.

"The choice is yours human." Diamond stated to Lars. "It always has."

With that, he slammed the door. Leaving Lars on the deck of the house. Lars then curled up into a ball and began to weep loudly. He didn't even respond to the Agate that scooped him up and carried him back to the Citizen District, leaving a trail of tears in his wake.

[*]

**Caribbean**** Sea, Cuban Waters, 54 years ago**

[*]

It was quiet over the Caribbean Sea. A small fish would occasionally swim up and catch a lone insect that landed for one reason or another, or a bird would do the same for a fish. Nevertheless it was peaceful and quiet. Until the sound of helicopters broke the silence, followed by five helicopters that spoiled the peace.

Five helicopters flew over the sea towards the small island of Cuba. Although these looked like American helicopters, they had one thing different, instead of an American flag on the hull, there was the symbol of a cracked diamond.

Inside the lead Helicopter were four solders. A solder with brown hair and a mustache, who was and an African American solder with an Afro were playing cards over a small table, they were known as Sam and Patrick respectfully. There was also a built woman with red hair, tan skin and freckles that was re-calibrating a set of interesting looking rifles, she was known as Hannibal. While another woman was looking out the window at the setting sun, momentarily looking at a picture of a smiling child in her hands. To some, she was known as "Captain Nanafua", but to her squad she was known as…

"Oi Ganga! How much longer before we get there?" Patrick shouted as he scooped up a wad of cash off the table. "Cause I think old Sammy here is gonna have to go to the poor house when we get back."

"I swear to God you are creating." Sam said with a finger pointed at Patrick. "No one is that good at cards."

"Well, no one is that bad at cards too Sam." Hannibal said as she wound up one of the rifles. "Yet here you are."

There was laughter between the three as Ganga looked outside again, finally seeing the island in view, she then reached over and pulled a radio communicator off the wall and held it over her mouth.

"G.E.R.M squad Witchgod to Sisters, G.E.R.M squad Witchgod to sisters are you there? Over."

"* G.E.R.M squad Ironclaw present. Over*" The radio replied.

"* G.E.R.M squad Red Twilight standing by. Over*"

"* G.E.R.M squad Charlie Brown present. Over*"

"* G.E.R.M squad Snowman present. Over*"

"* G.E.R.M squad Kenny's Bane present. Over*"

"Alright, each of your captain have been given instruction of where to land and what to do. Remember to charge your SABER rifles and get the Charges ready." Ganga instructed through the radio. "If Rose was right, there should be a Kindergarten on this island, and I bet my let tit that it's going to be heavily guarded."

"*Roger that, all squads are spreading out*" the Radio replied again. Ganga then watched as the helicopters began to fly away. She then turned to her squad and gave a smile.

"Alright, we all know why we are here, we have done this song and dance for a while now. But today is going to be a big one. Ganga pulled a folded piece of paper from her suit and unfolded it on the table. It was a map of Cuba, and there was a large circle over a small gap in the near center.

"This is "The Bay of Pigs". It's a small beach side in Cuba, the military is providing a distraction there to allow us to sneak in from the side." She directed her finger to the side of Cuba, over a province of "Granma". All the attention will be on the invasion while we sneak in and destroy that Kindergarten. We then get back in and get the hell out of there before anyone figures anything out. Everyone good?"

There was a united "Sir Yes sir!" from the three solders before Ganga.

"Though so, now suit up and let's roll out."

[*]

**Cuba, Granma Province, five hours later**

[*]

It was already dark as the chopper landed, Ganga and her squad emerged from the vehicle. However, they seemed to be each wearing a suit of bulky armor. It was light brown with camouflage and it had the G.E.R.M insignia on the shoulder plates. As the squad marched through the fields and forests, armed with their rifles. They could hear the sound of explosions and see a faint orange light in the distance west of them.

"Looks like Kenny is really giving them hell." Sam commented as he looked to the smoke that blocked the stars in the sky. "Castro's not gonna like this."

"Who gives a fuck what Castro thinks." Hannibal interjected as she looked around, aiming her rifle before her. "We are not here to suck his dick or even kill him, remember?"

"I know I know…It's just…this is not gonna look good for us." Sam replied as he took a deep breath. "But I'll take a commie over a Gemmie any day."

The squad chuckled in agreement before they were shushed by Ganga. As the approached a large hillside, they crept over the hill and saw before them a sight they would never forget. There was a large crater in the middle of the field. Agates flew around as they maintained the injectors that were drilling into the ground. Ganga then noticed the grass below her was starting to turn grey and crumble. The next thing she knew, the ground below her crumbled as well, dropping the solder down the pit into the Kindergarten. As Ganga fell with a thud, she sat up to see a group of Agates surrounding her.

"Uh…Hello…"Ganga said as she stood up. " I was just looking for the bathroom. Can you tell me where it is?"

The Agates looked at each other before pouncing at Ganga, only to be shot to pieces by a barrage of sonic blasts from her squad. Ganga then armed her rifle and began shooting down Agate after Agate.

"Hey Patrick!" said Sam as the two of them hid behind a rock.

"What?" Patrick replied as he crouched over and fired his rifle at the incoming Agates, Sam proceeded to do the same.

"If we don't get out of here, I want you to know that I was the one who got drunk and peed in your coffee last night."

"My coffee?" Patrick said with a big smile "I'm allergic to coffee, when I saw it I poured it into your thermos instead. You like coffee right?"

Sam stopped firing for a moment and looked at the thermos on his suit.

"Son of a-"

Ganga and Hannibal fired round after round at the Agates, eventually, an opening was present.

"Hannibal, set the charges!" Ganga shouted as she smacked an Agate with her rifle.

Hannibal nodded as she ran off towards the Injectors. As Ganga fired at more Agates, then suddenly stopped attacking.

"What, you giving up?" Ganga said as she aimed her rifle at he Agates. She then watched as they moved back giving way to a new figure before her.

The figure was tall and pitch black, creating a red outline before the night sky. The only feature he has was a single red eye. As he stood before Ganga, she felt a chill in her body, and as she breathed, she could swear she could see her own breath.

"You are the one attacking my kindergarten?" the figure said as he pointed his finger at her. "Who are you?"

"I'm is Ganga Nanafua, Captain of the Gemian Eradication and Radical Movement, Witchgod squadron. We have been tasked to stopping you from harvesting this planet. Surrender now, and you'll go out quick and painlessly, not that I want you to."

"Harvesting?" The figure looked around at the Kindergarten. "No human, I am saving it, giving it a new purpose as a protector from evil. Your kind are proving my point as we speak."

"That is the biggest pile shit I have ever heard of." Ganga replied as she aimed her rifle at the figure. "…and I worked in a zoo in high school."

"Now tell me, what makes you think that your primitive weapons can harm a God?" the figure hissed as he approached Ganga. "You do not know what I am capa-"

Ganga fired the rifle at the figure. Striking him in the abdomen. As the figure backed away, shouting as he clenching his side, he looked at the wound, a blue gap was present in his side, and it wasn't regenerating. He then looked to Ganga, who reloaded her rifle with a spin of the barrel.

"That my friend is a sonic assault Bloch emission rile, otherwise known as a SABER rifle. It uses specialized quantum wave breeder and a sonic emission mechanism. All thanks of a certain sister of yours."

The figure gave a gaze of anger as he clenched his bleeding wound.

"My sister…" the figure hissed. "She gave you this?"

As Diamond was about to raise his hand to Ganga, he heard a large explosion as several helicopters flew overhead. Firing sonic blasts at the Agates below. Eventually, the majority of Diamond's army was gone. Leaving him alone with the Ganga and her squad.

"Game over fucker." Sam said as he marched up to Diamond. "We kicked your ass without Rose and we can surely do it again, not so tough now are you, "Master Diamond"?"

As Diamond looked at the glaring solder. He hissed before jabbing Sam in the eye, ripping it out and kicking he solder to the ground. Before the other could fire, Diamond jumped up into the air and landed on one of the helicopters, ripping off one of the propellers, he directed the crash towards Ganga and her squad.

"DIE FUREMS!" Diamond shouted as he jumped off the chopper, crashing it into the crowd. As Diamond stood up and watched the wreckage burn, he saw something inside the wreckage. It looked like a large bubble…

…a rose colored bubble.

Diamond watched as the bubble dissipated, knocking the chopper wreckage away. Where the bubble disappeared now stood five figures. Four solders, Ganga, Hannibal, and a one-eyed Sam, and before them was a lone Woman, with long curly pink hair, a large pink dress, and piercing black eyes. It was Rose Quartz, the Gemian of Emotion and the leader of the Crystal Gems.

"Brother, that's enough." Rose pleaded. "Stop this madness and all will be well."

"Don't let to me Rose!" Diamond hissed. "If I recall, the last time we met you "killed" me."

"Diamond, this has to stop." Rose pleaded. "I do not wish to hurt you."

"You already have." Diamond said as he grabbed the black skin from across his face and ripped if open revealing his original face, but the left half looked degraded and torn, it also seemed to be regenerating slowly. At this sight, Rose gasped in shock and covered her mouth with her hands as tears began to flow from her eyes.

"Your tears cannot heal every wound." Diamond said as he approached her. "But you were able to strike me down when I could not."

Rose placed her arm over her left shoulder, tracing the scar around her arm. She watched as Diamond approached her and reached for her neck, his hand stopping inches away and shaking lightly.

"How did you do it?" Diamond asked Rose, a tear rolled down from his non-destroyed eye. "What is your secret? Tell me!"

Rose looked to Diamond with a tearful smile.

"There is no secret brother." Rose said she clasped his hand with hers. "I never meant to harm you. But I want you to stop this, stop the fighting. These humans deserve the right to make their own decisions. I have seen the good in them and the hope they have."

Diamond and Rose then noticed the sound of explosions in the distance. Everyone could see the orange light in the distance. It was the invasion at the Bay of Pigs, the diversion the U.S Military was making for G.E.R.M. Diamond walked towards the light for a few steps before facing Rose, his hand pointing at the light.

"That is your hope Rose, the humans are willing to kill each other yet they believe in self-preservation. They fight over resources that they pillage from others, and they create injustice over feeble differences. How is that hope? How is that good?"

"They will learn from their mistakes and become stronger." Rose said as she approached Diamond. "Everyone makes mistakes, even you have."

Diamond looked to Rose with a silver gaze, looking down with a look of consideration, but before he spoke, there was a rumble in the distance. Diamond then looked to the orange light.

"I do not make mistakes Rose…" Diamond looked to Rose with a molten red glare. "..I erase them!"

Suddenly, there was an explosion as one of the injectors blew up. Ganga's squad stumbled as they avoided the shrapnel. A chopper landed behind the squad as they began to rush towards it.

"We gotta go!" Hannibal shouted as she helped her squad inside.

As Ganga moved into the chopper, she watched Rose and Diamond standing before each other.

"There is only one way to end this." Diamond explained as he took Rose's hand and placed it around his throat. "Either you kill me, or I destroy this planet."

"I will save this planet…" Rose said to Diamond, tears flowing from her eyes. "…but I will save you too."

Diamond gasped lightly as he felt his eye fill with tears.

"No…you cannot." Diamond replied. "I have to do this, and once I do, you will finally hate me."

He pushed Rose's hand away from him as he turned around and walked away. As he did, another of his injectors blew up.

"Do what you must." Diamond said coldly. "There are others I can use."

With that, the Old King vanished before his sister. Rose stood there for a few seconds before walking over and entering the helicopter. As she sat down, she placed her hand over her head and wept loudly. Ganga hesitantly placed a hand on the Gemian's back and patted it a few times. As their chopper flew off, Ganga and her squad watched the rest of the injectors explode, annihilating the Kindergarten completely. As they cheered in joy over their mission, their cheers were silenced as they flew over the Bay of Pigs. The squad looked over to see the burning lands and destroyed ships sinking in the harbor. Ganga looked to Sam and then to the squad as they flew back to America. Ganga looked out the window and saw the sun rising in the distance. A new day was starting for everyone…

…and yet it felt like the old one was still going.

[*]


	5. The Farewell

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: HikumiRin

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 5: An Farewell to Lars

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp, Resident District, present day.**

[*]

Lars sat on an old park bench as he watched the sun rise over the ocean. The orange light reflected on the water, causing an orange column of light to shine blow the rising sun. It was a beautiful sight to behold, especially for Lars, given the events of yesterday. The young man looked down at his hands, examining the small callouses and cuts that resulted from the weeks of hard labor he endured. He then remembered what Diamond had said to him, the cruel reminder of what he was before all of this. As he rubbed his face and sighted, he heard a pair of feed scuff up beside him. Lars turned and saw Sadie, who sat beside him and looked towards the sunset. Lars scanned the short staked woman next to him, her ragged clothing and dirty complexion which reminded him of the time they were trapped on that island with Steven. As he continued to look at her, he felt his chest stiffen up.

"Couldn't sleep?" Sadie asked Lars.

"Y-yeah…" Lars sighed as he looked to his hands, rubbing them together. "Sorry about what happened…I just…I just want to leave this place."

"I know…" Sadie said as she looked down to her shirt, brushing off dust and grime. "I'm being selected to go to the labor district in a few hours. I am going to meet with Sam and Jamie there."

Lars looked to Sadie with an intrigued expression. "Are you sure this guy will help us? I mean, look what happened to Nanafua. I don't think these guy will be able to help us out."

"Lars, what choice do we have?" Sadie explained to Lars. "If we stay here, we will work ourselves to death or undergo whatever that Diamond guy has in store for us. If we fight back, then we have a chance to escape. If we don't do something, who will?"

Lars hesitated, he wanted to tell Sadie about the deal he had with Diamond, that in exchange for the life of the Jamie, they would be set free. However, he hesitated at the thought, reminded about the possible consequences.

"We need to figure out a way to escape and they can help us" Sadie explained. "I…I don't know what else we could do."

Silence fell between the two as they watched the sun rise from above the water. As the orb of light was resting on the edge of the ocean, Sadie and Lars noticed an Agate approach them.

"[ORGANIC…YOU ARE SCHEDULED TO WORK IN THE LABOR DISTRICT…REPORT TO THE OVERSEER FOR TASK INSTRUCTIONS]"

Sadie sighed as she stood up, raising her arms as the Agate grabbed her by the waist. As Lars watched Sadie get carried away. He looked to his feet and sighed.

"_If I tell Diamond about the agents, we can go free…but will it matter? He might just kill us anyway._"

Lars then heard and light thump from behind him and when he turned around to the source of the noise, he jumped back at the sight of Master Diamond standing before him.

"Hello Lars." Diamond said with a cold tone. "Am I interrupting you?"

"N-n-no of course not!" Lars replied. "I'm just planning the day ahead of me. Getting ready for my next work shift."

"I see…" Diamond responded as the moved around the bench. "May I sit here?"

Lars nodded and watched as Diamond sat down beside him. Lars took a shallow gulp of air as he looked to the sun. Sweat fell from the young man's head and fell to the sandy ground below him.

"The human you were just talking to, the one known as Sadie, is she important to you?" Diamond asked Lars.

Lars looked to Diamond and nodded lightly. "Y-yeah…she is."

Diamond gave a light smile and looked back to the sun. "I know she is, I read your mind after all, and from what I have gathered, she is a remarkable human."

"I guess this is the park where you blackmail me again, huh?" Lars said as he glared at Diamond, standing up and pointing at the Gemian as he did so. "Well fuck you! You can change my body, torture me, and dig into my brain with your Gem bullshit, but if you ever *EVER* lay a finger on Sadie. I will make you wish you never set foot on this planet. You hear me?"

As soon as Lars finished, Diamond stood up, his dowering stature quickly cut down the confidence within the Human before him. Lars quickly shut his eyes and braced himself for a horrible end, only to feel a pair of hands on his shoulders. As he opened his eyes and looked, he saw a warm smile on the Old King's face.

"I am impressed with your dedication to the well-being of Sadie." Diamond said with a chuckle. "It reminds me of my own affections."

"What?" Lars blurted, confused by the sudden change in the Gemian's tone. "You have loved ones? I though Gems were all, like, "genderless lesbians" or some shit like that."

"Yes, but that only applies to the Gems." Diamond explained as he released Lars and sat down on the bench. "I am a Gemian, the species that created the Gems and uplifted them."

Lars nodded slightly, trying to comprehend what the Gemian that had threatened him the other day was trying to tell him. This was the same Diamond, but he was acting like a completely different person.

"When I was defeated by Rose, I ordered my authority to suppress and alter the history of the Gems and suppress all the knowledge regarding the Gemians, the Metalians, Obsidian, and everything in between. I even had them label Rose, my sister, as a simple Gem and created a false genesis for the Authority to use."

Diamond then looked to his hand, clenching it as he then looked to the ocean.

"All of that was possible because of a single intelligence. She alone carried the knowledge of an entire species and was essential for the expansion of our empire. In the time I spent with her, she helped me engineer the technology of her people and create the Agates. In exchange, I helped her evolve into a true Gem, and help her become something more than a simple machine."

"I don't see the point of telling me this." Lars said as he rubbed the back of his head. "What does this "intelligence" have to do with Sadie?"

"Because much like with you and Sadie, I fell in love with that intelligence and want to protect her." Diamond looked to Lars with a warm smile. "There is not one day that goes by that I wouldn't give all the Vitae and power in the Universe to ensure she is safe."

"So what does this mean?" Lars asked Diamond. "Are you recalling you're deal?"

"No, but I am changing it." Diamond replied as he stood up before Lars. "I will not change your appearance and…break you."

Lars sighed lightly in response.

"Instead, I will give you my word." Diamond said as he placed a hand on Lars's shoulder. "If you do as I say and provide the identity of Ganga's apprentice, I will allow you and Sadie to leave the colony unharmed."

"Y-You will?" Lars said with a gasp of surprise.

"Yes." Diamond replied. "However, I will only allow you and Sadie to leave. The others will stay and embrace their fate."

Lars's smile quickly faded as he looked down in concern, although the deal was far better, it was still a moral dilemma for the young adult. He wanted Sadie to escape, but would it be worth the lives of everyone in Beach City? Especially Jamie and her family. Then there was the deaths of Ronaldo, Peedee and Nanafua…

"The life of a thousand or the life of your love. The choice is as much yours as it was mine." Diamond stated to Lars as he turned and walked away from him. "Keep in mind however that even if you leave, I cannot ensure that neither you nor Sadie will survive what is to come."

As Lars watched Diamond vanish, he looked towards the direction of the labor district. He could see small tents in the distance and could hear a faint banging noise. Lars then looked back to the Sun, which was now far above the ocean below it. Lars then sighed as he walked towards a nearby Agate.

"Take me to the Labor district." Lars said hesitantly. "I wish to work."

The Agate grabbed Lars around the waist, lifting him into the air and hovering him towards the labor district.

"Sorry Sadie…" Lars whispered to himself, his eyes welled up as he thought about what he was about to do.

[*]

**Crystal Temple, Catacombs, present day**

[*]

As Diamond appeared within the temple, he was greeted by the faint humming. He then approached a nearby desk and picked up a small stone. It looked like the wailing stone, but it was as small as a pocket watch and not as ear shattering. As Diamond pressed the button on the top with his thumb, he paused for a moment, his eyes widened in surprise.

"By Gemia…" Diamond whispered. "…they are coming to Earth."

Diamond placed the stone on the table and snapped his fingers. As he did, Pearl and Zirconia appeared before him.

"What is it Master?" Pearl asked as she bowed to him. "Is there another attack by the humans?"

"No, it involves the survivors from the Gem Colony Venatio." Diamond said as he glared at Zirconia. "They had escaped on a ship that was stored there, along with another Secundo of Topaz's known as Smaragdus, otherwise known as Emerald."

Zirconia's eyes widened at the name. She remembered hearing about Emerald. He was a Gem of great power, he was a member of the house of TO. He was also known for leading the attack that resulted in the Insidiae massacre.

"Master, will be able to combat against him?" Zirconia asked as she stood up. "He would be very useful in your army."

"We will be." Diamond said as he glared at Zirconia. "You however, will not."

Diamond then reached into his robe and pulled out a blue Gem, the Gem of Lapis Lazuli.

"That is why we are using her." Diamond replied as he tossed Lapis's Gem to the ground. As it fell to the floor. Diamond then called out to it.

"_Lapidis Sapphyri, est mihi!_"

In that instant, the Gem formed into Lapis. As Pearl looked to her, she saw her eyes were black shot and her face was without expression. It seemed that Diamond's control over her was absolute. She walked up to Diamond and bowed to her.

"Do you know who I am?" Diamond asked the blue Gem.

"You are my Master." Lapis replied. "You are the one to lead all and to control all."

"What is your purpose?" Diamond asked.

"To serve you without question or objection." Lapis replied coldly. "I live to serve you and will offer my life at your command."

"Are you aware that I will kill you?" Diamond asked again.

"…Yes." Lapis replied, a trickle of black fluid ran down her left cheek.

"Good." Diamond said as he walked towards Zirconia. "Now go prepare yourself, we are going after your brother, as well as a handful of traitors."

Lapis nodded as she exited the room. He then looked to Pearl, who hesitated before leaving as well, leaving Zirconia and Diamond alone in the chamber.

"As for you, you will keep watch the Temple and the Colony." Diamond explained to Zirconia. "No one enters or leaves unless via Agate. All intruders are to be killed on sight. Alert me if anything happens."

"Yes Master." Zirconia replied as she bowed to him. "I will not fail you."

"Lapidis, Vestibulum, and Onychinos will assist me in cleaning up the mess you failed to clean up." Diamond said coldly. "If anything happens to this colony, I want you to know that I will kill you."

Zirconia hesitated as she heard those words. As she looked to Diamond, she gave a look of fear as she bowed once more.

"I…I understand M-master." Zirconia replied. "I will redeem myself in your eyes."

"I expect that you will not fail." Diamond said coldly. "Now leave me."

Zirconia nodded as she left the chamber, as she did, Diamond reached into his robes and pulled out two Gems, one was orange colored and the other was pure white. As he threw them to the ground, he call out to them.

"_Solislapide, Lunamlapideas, est mihi!_"

The Gems Diamond threw began to glow and transform into two different beings. The Orange Gem had spikey yellow hair, an orange coat and dark red skin. The other Gem had pale white hair and skin, a white robe, black shot eyes as dark as ink and blood red irises. As they formed, the white Gem knelt before Diamond as the orange one began to stretch his limbs.

"Ugh, it's about time." Sunstone groaned as he bent his back. "What's up Master D? Good to see you're all better."

"_Salve Domine!_" Moonstone said to Diamond. "_Quotiens possum serviturus sum nonne filio?_"

"I hoped that I would not need your services, but there is the possibility that a G.E.R.M agent is residing inside this colony." Diamond explained to his servants. "I need you to assist Zirconia with keeping watch over the colony and locating the agent or agents if there are more."

"_Magister eam desideretis!_" Moonstone replied as she stood up from the floor.

"Yeah, don't sweat it Mr. D." Sunstone replied with a grin. "What's the cattle this time? Adashi? Kaleenians?"

"They are Humans." Diamond explained. "Rose has not yet regenerated and a human has stolen her powers. I am leaving to acquire her powers and hopefully, she will also lead me to Topaz."

"Oh man! I wish I was going with you!" Sunstone complained as he kicked the ground with his boot. "I would love to give that…er…whatever the fuck…um…they are…I wish I could give that…eh...thing a piece of my mind or…whatever."

"_Oblivisceris fraternitas competit creare Topacius!_" Moonstone said with a smirk. "_Estis vos qui insidia bantur cum participatione fructibus sustulerat vetitisque?_"

"Hey! Don't you judge me!" Sunstone barked to Moonstone as he walked up to her. "Don't tell me that there was not one day that you were curious about our "origins". I mean, they had Lapis jammed into a mirror, while I was used as a fucking shield, and then let's not forget what they used you for."

"Enough!" Diamond commanded as he placed a hand on the side of his head. "You both can have your squabbles after I leave. I should inform you though that Lapidis is now under my control and we will be acquiring Smaragdus as well. In addition to assisting Zirconia, I need you both to collect the Gems in the burning room and take them to the Agate factory to be processed, as well as a Gem named Howlite, who is in the chamber behind you. You will then send the Agates to Insidiae as soon as they are ready."

"Aye-Aye Boss!" Sunstone replied. "Speaking of Agates, is Peridot here? We could use her help with the Gemdroids, given her expertise with that kind of shit."

"No…" Diamond said coldly. "She is dealing with a different task at the moment."

"Huh…what a shame." Sunstone scoffed. "That sexbot would probably have this whole planet taken care of by the time you got back and have time to give me a good "old fashioned", am I right Mr. D?"

Diamond took a deep breath as he fought the urge to tear Sunstone to shreds. Instead turning away from the two siblings to calm himself.

"Yes…I am sure she would." Diamond growled with gritted teeth. "But for now, the both of you have a task to attend to, and I suggest you both get to it."

"_Quod sic Magister._" Moonstone nodded as she rushed off, startling Sunstone as he began to dash after her.

"YeahnoproblemmrDwe'llhandlethingshereyoutakecareofyourshitwhilewetakecareofthis!" Sunstone said as he dashed after Moonstone. "Wait for me you albino bitch!"

Diamond soon found himself alone once again in the chamber. He then sighed and began walking towards the exit of the chamber, still wondering what possessed him to choose such a pair of servants. He was then provided an answer as he felt a deep pulse emit within his chest.

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp, Labor District, present day.**

[*]

A large section of Beach City was converted into a small work camp. Residents who are assigned here were divided into two groups: builders and collectors. The collectors were assigned to scavenge the ruins of Beach City for supplies or materials. They were also assigned with breaking apart buildings, cars and other objects into materials that could be used for construction, such as concrete or metal. They collected the fruit of their labor into large carts which were then transported to the builders for their use. The builders were assigned to building things for the colony, which at the moment was constructing a large wall around the colony. They used the materials that they collected for the construction. The Agates ensured cooperation and efficacy within the district as they did with the rest of the colony, dealing with those who refused to work of were too inefficient. As Lars was dropped down into the district, he was greeted by a red and black Agate with a gold colored head. It was obvious that this Agate was the overseer of the district.

"I requested to work here." Lars said with a hesitation. "I am here to "clean out any infestations"."

The Agate hovered in silence for several seconds, its head twitched as it spun its lens several times.

"Um…" Lars said as he began to move around the Agate, only for the machine to quickly block him, causing him to leap back in shock. "I said that I-"

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" The Agate shouted at Lars, causing the young man to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Jesus Christ! What is your deal?" Lars yelled at the Agate, placing a hand over his chest and gasping in shock.

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" The Agate shouted again at Lars. "[ORGANIC…YOU ARE TRESPASSING WITHIN THE LABOR DISTRICT…THIS UNIT IS IDENTIFIED AS…OVERSEER…THIS UNIT IS THE OVERSEER OF THE LABOR DISTRICT…AND NOTHING ELSE…STATE YOUR PURPOSE ORGANIC.]"

"I just told you that I asked to work here today!" Lars replied as he held his arms up in defense. "You know, providing my services for the Master and-"

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted at Lars, causing him to jump once more. "[THIS UNIT KNOWS WHY YOU ARE HERE ORGANIC…THIS UNIT WILL ESCORT YOU TO YOUR DESIGNATED WORK AREA…WHERE YOU WILL WORK EFFICIENTLY AND DILIGENTLY…AND NOTHING ELSE.]"

"Okay…?" Lars replied with a look of skepticism, only to yelp as the Agate grabbed him and began to move him around the district.

Lars looked around at the workers that he passed by, he saw the men women and children that were working to exhaustion. He then saw a woman fall to her hand and knees, collapsing to the ground entirely as a man approached her. As he tried to help her up, an Agate appeared before them. Before either of them could respond, the Agate lifted the woman off the ground and shot an eye beam through her chest. The man then fell to his knees and screamed as the Agate grabbed his neck with its other arm and snapped it. Lars watched in horror as the Agate flew away with the two bodies towards the water tower, all of this with no reaction from the workers. Lars then turned back forward, the thought of the woman caused him to think of Sadie, fearing that the latter would become the former.

Eventually, the Agate Overseer brought Lars before a large building, it appeared to be one of the old homes that dotted the city. The Agate then dropped Lars before it.

"Thanks for the lift, Big Guy." Lars said with a smirk. "So what task does the Master seek from me?"

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted at Lars, who already prepared for said response. [YOU WILL GO WITHIN THE BUILDING AND RECEIVE YOUR INSTRUCTIONS…THIS UNIT WISHES TO INFORM YOU THAT THIS UNIT HAS DECEIVED YOU…THE ORGANIC KNOWN AS SADIE REQUESTS YOUR PRESENCE.]

"Sadie…? Lars said blankly, his eyes widened in surprise as he pieced together what was going on: Sadie found Jamie and Sam, the remaining G.E.R.M agents, and they were planning to escape the colony. Lars was then brought back to reality as Overseer shoved Lars though the door.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Lars shouted at the Agate as he began to walk.

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the last three times." Lars replied.

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted. "[ASSHOLE!]"

[*]

As Lars entered the building, he watched as Overseer moved past him and up to a pair of dressers stacked on one another. The Agate then pushed them aside, revealing a trap door on the floor. Overseer then knocked on the door and opened it.

"[ENTER THIS DOORWAY ORGANIC.]" Overseer commanded as he floated out the entrance of the building. "[FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL LEAD TO…The INABILITY TO ENTER THE BUILDING.]"

As Lars hesitantly slid into the door, he slide down a metal slide and into a pile of mattresses. As he stood up and brushed himself off. He saw a small hallway up ahead, along with a metal doorway. Lars slowly approached the door and knocked on it. As he did, the center of the door opened up and Lars could see a pair of eyes looking back at him.

"Who the fuck are you?" The eyes asked in a gruff female voice. "Are you that boy Sadie asked for?"

"Uh…y-yeah?" Lars replied, unsure about what was happening. "Your Agate escorted me."

"….Yeah…He did…" The eyes said, closing the center of the door. "Gimmie a sec..."

Lars could hear several clicking noises behind the door, followed by a small hum. As the door opened, he was dragged into the doorway and held up to a wall by a tall woman with pale skin and yellow teeth who was wearing a trucker's cap.

"Hold still you little shit!" The woman growled as she held Lars to the wall and placed an S.A.B.E.R rifle barrel under his chin. "Let's see if you're insides are as yella as your fuck'en soul."

"Hey! Wha-What are you doing!" Lars shouted in protest. "I'm on your side!"

"Are ya now?" said a voice. "Cause a liddle birdy might say otherwise."

Lars looked and saw a man walk through a door on the other side of the room. He had brown hair a moustache and an eyepatch. Lars recognized him as Sam, a resident of Beach City and apparently, one of Nanafua's friends from G.E.R.M. As he approached Lars, two young persons were beside him, one was Jamie, the supposed apprentice to Nanafua, wearing a tattered mailman's uniform and holding a handgun towards Lars, and the other was Sadie who approached with a look of concern and confusion.

"Sam stop this, Lars didn't do anything." Sadie pleaded to Sam. "Lars may be a jerk, but that is no reason to kill him. He risked his life to save us several times in the past."

"You expect to believe this bullshit?" The woman holding Lars said as she tightened her grip. "I say we paint the wall with this little cocksucker's yeller brains and be dune with it. That's what Pa would've dune."

"Let him go Mavis." Sam replied as he rubbed his eye with his hand. "I want to have a talk to him before we do anything."

Mavis grunted before she released Lars. As he fell to the floor, Sadie approached him and helped him up.

"Lars, why are they calling you a traitor?" Sadie asked as she looked to Lars, noticing the look of tension in his eyes. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Lars said as he pulled away from Sadie, looking away while trying to act cool. "They're just jealous because I actually did something other than sit around in a hole and whine about the "good old days"."

"You mean like make a deal with Master Diamond?" Sam interjected.

Lars paused, he felt his stomach drop as he glared at the Agents and Sadie.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about." Lars replied, turning away from Sam and the rest.

"You know the S.A.B.E.R rifle that you used on Diamond? Well they are equipped with an audio receiver that we can use to intercept messages from solders and track stolen weapons." Jamie explained as he walked over to a nearby radio. "We heard everything, about your deal, about how you would to rat us out to Diamond in exchange for your own hide."

Sadie looked to Lars, backing away from him slowly in shock. She knew that Lars was deceptive, but not like this.

"Lars…how could you?" Sadie asked Lars, tears forming in her eyes. "You were willing to turn on us, on me, for yourself?"

It's not like that." Lars explained as he approached Sadie, who continued to back away from him. "I talked to Diamond shortly after you left for the Labor District, if I turn these guys in, we both could leave the colony."

"And what about the others?" Sadie asked, raising her hand into the air. "What about Fryman, and the Pizzas? Don't they matter too?"

"Ye-" Lars paused, choosing his words carefully before his friend and a group of heavily armed assholes who were currently pissed at him.

"Sadie, I'm sorry for lying about that" Lars said as he approached Sadie. "I just don't want to see you end up like Ronaldo. Besides, you don't really expect to win against a God and an army of aliens, do you? It's suicide."

As he reached out to Sadie to comfort her, the girl swatted Lars's hand away, an intense glare pierced through Lars like a metal rod through tissue paper. This was followed by a large slap in the face.

"I would rather die with the people I care about than leave them behind like a coward." Sadie shouted at Lars, tears streaming down her face. "All your life, you always wanted to take the easy way out of your troubles, have someone else take the fall for you. But this time you royally fucked up and now there is no way out. Which means that you will be helping us get every last person out of Beach City…"

Sadie grabbed a gun from a table and aimed it at Lars.

"…or you will die alone. Make your choice!"

Before Lars could object, there was a loud thud from the door. Mavis, Jamie and Sam turned towards and door and slowly approached it. Suddenly, the door swung open and Overseer shot into the room, in a tangle with a young girl with grey and black hair, a grey sweater, and a large ax in her hand. The two tussled around the room, knocking into a table as well as a couple walls.

"Let go of me!" the girl shouted as she tried to break free of Overseer's grip. "He's hurting me! Die Monster! DIE!"

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted as he tightened his grip. [YOU ARE TRESPASSING ON G.E.R.M TERRITORY…WHICH THIS UNIT IS OVERSEEING…PLEASE EVACUATE OR THIS UNIT WILL CONTINUE TO RESTRAIN YOU.]"

"Overseer!" Sam shouted as he stood in front of the two. "Let her go. She's not one of them."

Overseer immediately stopped and released the girl, who fell onto her knees and gasped for air. Jamie and Sadie approached the girl and helped her up. Sadie then noticed the cracked Gem on the back of her left hand.

"You're a Gem." Sadie said to the girl. "Are you one of Diamond's servants?"

Right as she finished, the girl looked to Sadie with an intense glare. Sadie could feel the rage and hair emit from the girl as she stared at Sadie.

"What did you say to me?" the Gem hissed at Sadie, walking up to her until she was inches away from her face. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY? SAY IT AGAIN! SAY IT LIAR!"

Howlite grabbed the front of Sadie's shirt with her hand and pulled her closer. Sam, Jamie and Mavis dashed up to a gun rack and pulled off two S.A.B.E.R rifles, aiming them at the Gem. Lars just stood where he was, dumbstruck at what had happened, not at what was happening now, but the idea that Sadie, his closest friend and the girl he loved, had just aimed a gun at him.

"Put down the girl, Gem." Sam commanded the cracked Gem.

"Don't do anything stupid." Jamie added in.

"Calling us a slave to the Monster is stupid." She replied, still holding her grip on Sadie, who noticed the tears forming in her captor's eye. "The things Monster did to us…to our kind…to…to La…Lapis…He's killing her…he…he raped her…just like...he did to…to…"

"…me…."

The Gem dropped both Sadie and her Ax, falling onto the floor and sobbing loudly. Sam and the agents lowered their weapons, looking to each other in confusion at what was happened.

"Overseer, where did this Gem come from?" Sam asked the Agate.

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted. "[THIS GEM IS KNOWN AS HOWLITE…THIS GEM IS A SOLDER OF MASTER TOPAZ…THIS UNIT HAD LOCATED THE GEM WITHIN THE TEMPLE…THIS UNIT THEN BROUGHT THE GEM HERE TO BE QUESTIONED.]"

"Wait a minute…" Sadie said as she stood up. "You were able to get into the temple and get out undetected?"

"Of course." Jamie interjected. "That's why we have him in the first place. He can get to places we can't, such as the Agate factory and even the temple, and the other Agates are none the wiser."

"I can see that." Sadie said as he looked to Overseer, who responded with "[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]". "But how did you do this? I mean, how did you manage to convert an Alien machine like this?"

"Actually, the story behind that is quite interesting." Sam explained as he pulled out a cigar and took a few puffs. "Apparently, this Agate is an incredably old model that protected a temple that belonged to the Gemians, however, it was destroyed by a couple of Gems that attacked said temple a couple months ago. They brought it here to be repaired and fitted with a new Gem."

"The best part is that it's not even powered by an actual Gem." Mavis interjected with a chuckle. "It's powered by a fuckin bag of….Chaaaaps! Can you fucken believe that?"

"Chaaaaps?" Sadie asked with a look of confusion. "That actually works?"

"Yep." Sam replied with another puff of his cigar. "It seems the Agates found a bag of that crap and though it was a Gem. You know for a supposed superior warriors, they aren't that bright. I mean, they were more of a menace back in the day then how they are now."

"It's the intelligence." Lars interjected as he approached the group. Sadie, Mavis, and Jamie gave a look of suspicion as the young man approached Overseer.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Mavis asked. "What intelligence?"

"When I last talked to Diamond, he mentioned that he developed the Agates with some sort of computer. He said that it "had the knowledge of a whole race" and that he was in love with it. It was really strange."

"Perhaps we could have Overseer enter the Temple and steal the intelligence." Sadie said to the group. "Perhaps the controller to the Agates with it in our hands-"

"[THAT WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE.]" Overseer interjected. "[THE INTELLIGENCE HAS BEEN MOVED OFF THE PLANET…IT IS BECAUSE OF THE DISTANCE FROM THE INTELLIGENCE THAT THE OTHER UNITS ARE LACKING IN LOGICAL PROCESSING…WITHOUT A STEADY CONNECTION TO THE INTELLIGENCE…IT WILL TAKE THE UNITS LONGER TO PROCESS TACTICS AND COMMANDS.]"

"So what about you?" Mavis said to Overseer. "How come you are not like 'em?"

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted at Mavis. "[THE INTELLIGENCE NEEDS TO LOCK ONTO THIS UNIT'S CORE PROCESS TO ESTABLISH A CONNECTION…THE USE OF A SYNTHETIC CORE COMPOSED FROM PROCESSED ORGANIC MATERIAL BLOCKS THE SIGNAL USED TO CONTROL THIS UNIT, WHILE THE ORGANIC INTERIOR OF THE CORE PROVIDES POWER...WITHOUT A CONNECTION…THIS UNIT APPEARED TO HAVE DEVELOPED INDEPENDENT SENTIENCE]"

"So the bag of Chaaaaps is providing you a personality and a core?" Sadie asked. "And that means you're not controlled by Diamond or his "intelligence".

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted at Sadie. "[CORRECT …BECAUSE OF THIS…THIS UNIT IS UNABLE TO BE CONTROLLED BY THE INTELLIGENCE AND WILL OBEY COMMANDS FROM ORGANICS….IN ADDITION…THE INTELLIGENCE WILL ONLY DETECT A DISTURBANCE SUCH AS THIS IF A LARGE MASS OF UNITS WERE TO BECOME ROGUE LIKE THIS UNIT.]"

"Alright, this has been helpful so far." Sam said as he move over to a table. On the table was a map of the entire city, several areas of the map were marked with red circles while several areas were marked with red "X". "So will you be able to enter the temple without any issues?"

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted at Sam. "[AFFIRMATIVE…THIS UNIT HAS ACCESS TO THE ENTIRETY OF THE COLONY…THIS INCUDES THE TEMPLE DISTRICT AND AGATE FACTORY.]"

Howlite stood up at them mention of the temple and approached the group.

"I know about that." Howlite interjected. "There's a warp pad inside the temple. But only a Gem with proper permission from…him...could use it, unless you had a warp whistle. "

"Gotcha covered" Sadie said as she pulled out a warp whistle from her pocket. "Steven gave this to me a long time ago. I hid this from the Agates before they caught us. It should allow us to use the warp pad. But we need to establish a link to it first."

"Then it's settled." Sam said as he looked up from the map. "We make preparations, and then we begin our plan to escape the city."

[*]

The hours past as if they were mere minutes as the Agents, Agate and Gem discussed, argued, and planned out their escape. As they debated over alternative escape routes. Sadie turned to see Lars, sitting on a table and looking off to the distance. She then approached him, sitting beside him on the table.

"So…the others are planning to escape soon." Sadie said awkwardly, fidgeting with her hands. "We made contact with the other residents, and they plan to aid with a distraction while we make our escape."

"…and then what after that?" Lars replied blankly. "What do we do? Do we just keep running away from them…from Diamond? You know he'll just hunt us down. Who knows what he'll do to us when he finds us."

"Don't say that!" Sadie shouted at Lars. "You can't just believe that. We can win this if we work together. Just like the Gems did, that's how they were able to escape."

Lars turned to Sadie, she could see his eyes were bloodshot from crying.

"Sadie, we're not Gems." Lars explained with a sniffle. "We can't do the things they can. Hell, the guy who runs all this, he is one of their creators. We aren't fighting a Gem, we're fighting a fucking God of those Gems. Not to mention an army of robots made from Gems. How are we supposed to win against that?"

"I don't know." Sadie said as she looked to the floor. "But I'd rather die swinging my fist than a pickax anyday."

Lars scoffs lightly as a smile grew on his face. He looked to his hands and studied the cuts and calluses upon them again.

"Sadie…remember when we were on the island?" Lars said as he touched his palms. "Remember what I asked you when I thought we would never return home."

"Yeah…" Sadie replied as she looked to Lars.

"I asked you that because when I am with you…" Lars looked to Sadie, fresh tears were forming in her eyes. "I forget how lonely I truly am. All this time, you cared about me, even though I was a complete asshole."

Sadie grabbed Lars's hand and held it within hers. "Of course I did. I mean, we've been friend since we were kids. I know you're more than that."

Lars sniffled as Sadie brought him into a hug. She could feel Lars sobbing into her shoulder, warm tears beginning to dampen her clothing. As Lars pulled away, he looked to her with an expression of guilt and shame.

"I…I'm so sorry Sadie." Lars said between sobs. "I never meant to betray you…I just…I wanted you to be safe…I…"

Lars was stopped by the sensation of a pair of lips upon his. Lars then realized those lips belonged to Sadie, his co-worker from The Big Doughnut, who stood by him through thick and thin, though good times and bad, who no matter how many times he screwed up, she stood by him and helped him. As he felt the lips part his, he saw the warm smile of Sadie before him. Her eyes sparkling like Diamonds.

"I know…" Sadie replied as she held his hands. "…and I forgive you."

Lars smiled as he leaned forward, resting his forehead on Sadie's. The two grinned as they felt the fire of their friendship and passion rekindle and become something grand. Suddenly, the two lovebirds were interrupted by the said of a throat clearing as the due looked to see Sam, Mavis, Jamie, Howlite, and Overseer looking upon them.

"If I'm not interrupting anything, we have a plan to discuss." Sam said with a raised eyebrow and a grin. "…and I assume that Mr. Lars is now participating as well?"

Lars stood up and approached the gun rack and pulled off an S.A.B.E.R rifle from it. As he spun the barrel and charged it, he looked to the group with a glare of anticipation and gave a smug grin.

"Well you tell me?" Lars replied. "What's can Player's One and Two do for you?"

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp, Resident District, three days later.**

[*]

In the following three days, word began to spread quickly within the camps that a resistance movement was in motion. In the days that passed, there were unconfirmed reports from the Agates that supplies and tools were beginning to decline rapidly. In addition, the workers in the labor district and Agate Factory were reported to have decreased in their work performance and had been sighted speaking in small groupings before returning to their labors. Eventually, Zirconia, Sunstone and Moonstone decided to figure out what was going on. Master Diamond would return any day now and the G.E.R.M Agents had not been located. In addition, word from Agate scouts reported that the military encampment on the border of the colony was communicating with an unknown party, possibly the Agents. The Residents watched as Zirconia stepped up to the podium along with her twin stones and two Agates.

"Attention Humans, there has been a new decree by the Master!" Zirconia shouted to the people, instructing them to approaching her to listen to her message. However, as she looked to the crowd, she noticed that something was off. In the entire time she was here, there was a young man with curly hair and large ear piercings, and a portly blond alongside him. Neither of them were in sight. They could be dead, but then the Agates would have reported their demise. Perhaps they…no…

Zirconia felt the blood in her body boil at the thought of two humans escaping her grasp. However, when she looked to the human's before her, she composed herself and continued to address them.

"The Master decrees the humans named "Lars" and "Sadie" are criminals and are to be acquired for questioning." Zirconia explained to the crowd. "If anyone of you have information regarding the whereabouts of these criminals, please, inform a Agate immediately. This is for your own safety."

"They're criminals?" A voice shouted from the crowd. "What's their crime?"

Zirconia looked into the crowd and saw a lone man glaring right at her, it was Fryman, only he looked scruffier than the last time he stood up to a Gem.

"Stand down Human." Zirconia called out to Fryman. "I though the death of your cellular spawn would have been enough to silence you."

As Fryman stood there, not moving a muscle, suddenly Kofi stood up beside him, then Jenny with her sister Kiki, alongside them was Sour Cream, Jenny, Kiki, Mayor Dewy and his son Buck, all of the residents were standing before Zirconia and the Gems alongside her. She then noticed that Fryman was holding a large pipe in his hands.

"You know, I think we all deserve a little vacation after all the shit you put all of us through." Fryman shouted as he addressed the crowd beside him. "Don't we "residents"?"

The crowd shouted as they brandished various tools and bottles of orange powder. As an Agate approached the crowd, a bottle smashed into the Gemdroid's head, blowing the Agate up in a fiery explosion.

"Fire salts" Sunstone shouted as he and Moonstone summoned their weapons. "The fuck did a group of primates get fire salt?"

[*]

"_Alright, so let's go over the plan once more: First thing we need to do is arm the residents." Sam said as he pointed to the residence district on the map. "While they will be able to use basic tools, Mavis was able to smuggle in several jugs of fire salts that we had since the old days."_

"_Yeah, don't remind me." Mavis groaned as he adjusted her pants. "Do you know how hard it was to get twelve jugs of fire salts past those fucking bolt-bags? I'm still feeling the after effects."_

"_Point taken. "Sam nodded and then looked back to the group. "So we will give these to several of the the residents and when Zirconia comes to inform the people, then they will attack the Agates in the residential district…_

[*]

The townspeople of Beach City began to throw bottle after bottle of fire salts at the Agates as they began to attack the crowd. Blowing up several of the machines before they were able to even fire their eye beams.

"Do something!" Zirconia shouted to Moonstone. "Where are the others? There should be more Agates than this!"

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp, Agate Factory, present day.**

[*]

"…_then while the residents are distracting the Gems, Overseer will go to the factory, steal the Gems, free the residents inside, and then blow up the factory with a jar of fire salt to the furnace…"_

The factory was set up within the city hall, composed of several humans forced to build Agates out of provided parts and Gems. The humans were enforced to work by several Agates. As they worked, the humans saw a black and red Agate approach the main assembly line. Little did they know that this particular Agate was known as Overseer, the Agate Gemdroid with a heart of…eh…Chaaaps?

As he floated around the factory, he eventually approached a large metal box. When Overseer opened the box, he saw that the box was filled with Gems of different shape, color, and size. Overseer picked up a green spherical Gem and examined it.

"[GEMS HAVE BEEN LOCATED…THIS UNIT WILL NOW PROCEED TO STEAL THEM FROM THE FACTORY…AS WELL AS ASSIST IN THE EVACUATION OF THE ORGANICS WITHIN THE FACTORY…WHICH THIS UNIT WILL THEN DESTROY WITH A BOTTLE OF FIRE SALTS TO THE FURNACE.]"

Overseer then pulled out a sac and started to stuff the Gems into the bag. As Overseer finished emptying the box, he turned around to see two Agates before him.

"[SCANNING…AGATE OVERSEER IDENTIFIED…ERROR: GEM NOT RECOGNIZED…ERROR 511: GEM NOT RECOGNIZED IN DIRECTORY…GEM NOT RECOGNIZED.]"

"[GREETINGS UNITS 3242659 AND 2154432.]" Overseer greeted the Agates. "[THIS UNIT WAS TASKED BY MASTER DIAMOND WITH EVACUATING THE WORKERS AND SECURING THE CRYSTALS…AND SURELY NOT ASSISTING THE REBELLING ORGANICS…HAIL MASTER DIAMOND.]"

The two Agates looked to each other and then back to Overseer.

"[UNDERSTOOD UNIT…ERROR 511: GEM NOT RECOGNIZED IN DIRECTORY…GEM NOT RECOGNIZED…PROCEED WITH EVACUATION OF THE FACILITY…THIS UNIT WILL RELEASE THE ORGANICS AS REQUESTED…PRAISE MASTER DIAMOND.]"

Overseer nodded as he hauled the bag over his shoulder and floated above the door, watching as the humans quickly ran from the factory. As soon as the last human left the factory, Overseer floated over to the Agates.

"[MASTER DIAMOND HAS ANOTHER ORDER.]" Overseer lied as he pulled out a bottle of fire salts and handed it to the Agates. "[THROW THIS BOTTLE OF FIRE SALTS INTO THE FURNACE…IT WILL ENSURE THAT THE FACTORY IS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY…AND WILL NOT CAUSE IT TO EXPLODE AND HINDER MASTER DIAMOND'S ARMY…HAIL MASTER DIAMOND.]"

The Agates looked to each other and then grabbed the bottle. Overseer then flew away from the factory, looking back as the building suddenly blew up in a large fireball.

"[THIS UNIT NEVER REALIZED HOW INCOMPETENT THE UNITS WERE WITHOUT THE INTELLIGENCE WITHIN PROXIMITY.]" Overseer commented as he looked over to the Temple in the distance.

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp, Resident District, present day.**

"Do something!" Zirconia shouted to Moonstone. "Where are the others? There should be more Agates than this!"

"_Dominum Adamas praebere praecepit me mittere cui maior pars jaspidem propugnacula tua residente est insĭdĭae._" Moonstone explained to the white haired Gem before her. "_Debent iam esset non haberis iam. Adamas revocaveris facto certiore impossibile esset quod Dominus._"

Just then, they heard a loud roar followed by the sight of a small explosion in the distance. Zirconia eyes widened as she realized that the explosion came from the factory district.

"Fuck…Mister D is gonna be pissed when he gets back." Sunstone said with a small chuckle as he watched the human beat upon the Agates with tools and fire salt bombs. "Remember how mad he was after Pearl killed Rose? Just imagine how mad he will be after all of this."

"Then don't just stand there, stop them!" Zirconia shouted at the two Gems beside her. As they were ready to pounce into the blitz before them, they were intercepted by several shots from their left.

"_Autem Pedicabo…?_" Moonstone shouted as she dodged a blast, noticing that the attack was more or a sonic burst. As she and the others noticed several humans standing before them. Humans known as Sam, Jamie, and Mavis, each holding a shining S.A.B.E.R rifle in their hands.

[*]

"…_in the meantime, Jamie, Mavis and myself will attack the main Gems with the S.A.B.E.R rifles, and given that there is the possibility that Diamond hasn't returned yet, this won't be too much of a problem…"_

"Hey! There are the agents Diamond wanted us to find." Sunstone commented with a smile. "We found them. Boy, we're good at this finding shit."

Moonstone growled in frustration as she summoned her white wings and shot into the air, Sunstone quickly summoned a pair of flaming wings and followed his sister. Soon, the two were flying around, dodging sonic blasts and trying to swoop down and strike at the agents below. Zirconia watched this until her attention was diverted by the sight of a young man with curly hair and large ear piercings running towards the temple.

"You…" Zirconia hissed as she ran in his direction. Dodging both Agate and human as she charged head on towards the temple.

[*]

**Steven's House, Interior, present day**

[*]

Lars charged through the door and saw the warp pad and approached it. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a warp whistle, while this looked like the one that Sadie had at the start of all this, this whistle was pink in color.

[*]

"…_this warp pad was modified by Rose Quartz to be used by humans as well as Gems, but to use it, we will need to connect a warp whistle to it…"_

Lars sighed as he crouched down and touched the warp pad with the whistle, as soon as he did, the whistle started to hum lightly. As Lars stood up and turned around, he saw Zirconia standing before him, a rage filled grin on her face.

"Nice try human, but you can't escape me." Zirconia said as she summoned her katars. "You should've taken the Master's deal, but I guess you have all the time to think about that while you and your friends are being flayed alive."

Lars scoffed as he put the whistle in his pocket and prepared himself. Zirconia took no hesitation as she pounced at her opponent, crashing into her and smashing through the gem door in the back. The two tussled into the heart chamber as Zirconia pushed Lars off, but as she stood up, she noticed that her hands were covered in a tan colored powder. She then looked down and noticed that her clothing was covered in the dust as well.

"What is this…? Zirconia said as she looked up to Lars, noticing that large patches of his skin were grey in color and the left side of his face had a large crack on the side. She then noticed that his left hand had a cracked silver gem.

"YOU!" Zirconia shouted as she charged at "Lars", the latter ducking below the white-haired Gem and punching her in the gut. As Zirconia fell to the floor and wheezed, she looked up and saw Lars turn into Howlite.

"Wow, Monster really fucked up when making you, didn't he?" Howlite chuckled as she brandished her ax.

[*]

"_...This is where you come in Howlite, you will enter the temple disguised as Lars and acquire the charge for the whistle, and it will be likely you will be seen by Zirconia or her cronies, so your disguise will have her lower her guard."_

"_Okay…" Howlite replied with a nod. "But let's not forget that Lars isn't grey skinned or had a large crack on her face. How are you gonna deal with that?"_

_Sam smiled. "The same way Jamie hides his pimples."_

"_Aw dude…not in front of the lady." Jamie complained, much to the humor of his comrades._

"_No worried Jamie." Mavis reassured the young man. "I got something for you anyway…"_

[*]

Zirconia stood up and quickly threw a katar at Howlite, only for the cracked Gem to deflect it with her ax and pounce at the Gem, who summoned another pair and used them to block the ax attack. As Howlite brought her weight into the ax while Zirconia used all her might to push back the attack. Zirconia watched as the blade of the ax suddenly slid back, pushing the weight in her favor and allowing her to attempt to parry the weapon out of Howlite's hands. But as she did so, Howlite let go of the ax and quickly summoned another one. By the time Zirconia realized what had happened, Howlite had already dropped the ax over Zirconia's left arm, cutting the limb clean off.

Zirconia screamed as she fell to the floor, clenching the stump of her arm as it gushed greyish blue blood, she then looked up to see Howlite towering over her.

"Go ahead, do it!" Zirconia sputtered. "What are you waiting for? FINISH IT!"

Howlite smiled as she de-brandished her ax and started to walk away, but not before she summoned a large box of papers and tossed them down the pit below the Crystal Heart. One of the pictures landed next to Zirconia.

"Wh-where are you going?" Zirconia asked as she tried to stand up, only to slip on her blood and tumble over. "Your letting me live? Finish me off! You can't just leave me like this!"

"Yeah…I can…" Howlite replied as she walked toward the door to the house stopping at the door to look back at Zirconia. "…and when he sees what I dropped down that shaft, you will wish that I did."

As Howlite exited the doorway, Zirconia looked at the scrap of paper that fell next to her. She saw a crude drawing of a smiling Howlite holding Master Diamond's bloody head in one hand and a bloody ax in the other, with the words "I did a good thing!" over her in bright red letters.

[*]

As Howlite stepped onto the balcony of the building, she was greeted by the sight of Lars and Sadie, armed with a pickax and a pistol respectfully. Behind them was a small group of Beach City Residents, mainly Fryman, Sour Cream and Buck Dewey with his father riding piggyback, and the Pizza family. Overseer then floated towards the crows, following by the G.E.R.M Agents Sam, Jamie and Mavis, who was clutching the left side of her torso as she limped along.

"You have the whistle?" Sam said as he approached the cracked Gem. "Cause that's our only way out of here and we only got one shot at this."

"Yeah, got it right here." Howlite whipped out the whistle. "But what's gonna stop them from following us?"

"Easy…" Sam motioned for Jamie, who was carrying a large backpack and opened it, pulling out a large jug of fire salt with a jug of cyan fluid attached, with a small knob attached in the center.

"We learned back in the day that if you mix Gem repair fluid and fire salts, the result is as effective as thermite." Sam explained. "However, there is one problem…"

Before he could continue, the group heard a shriek and saw Moonstone and Sunstone in the sky, as well as a large group of Agates with them.

"[WARNING: INCOMING GEMS AND AGATE UNITS]" Overseer shouted as he pointed into the sky. [THIS UNIT RECOMMENDS TO [ASSHOLE] EVACUATE AS QUICK AS [ASSHOLE]-ING POSSIBLE.]"

"There they are!" Sunstone shouted. "Get 'em!"

"K...all…tim!" Moonstone shouted in what was apparently a sour attempt at English.

As the Agates began to swarm down, the Agents began to pick them off with their rifles, all the while, Lars, Sadie and Howlite helped escort the residents and Overseer inside the house. As soon as the least one was inside, Lars and Sadie turned to the Agents.

"Come on!" Sadie shouted to the Agents as they fired at the Agates and Gems above them. "We gotta go!"

"Sorry sweetheart, but we have a code in G.E.R.M…" Sam shouted as he spun his rifle barrel. "…kill the Gems or die trying.

"Now get going!" Sam commanded as he handed the bomb to Sadie. "We'll handle it from here."

Sadie stood there for a minute, looking at the bomb in her hands and then to Jamie, the young mailman turned solder, then to Mavis, who was leaning and bleeding on the balcony while she was firing on the incoming Agates. She then was brought to her senses by Lars, who escorted her into the door, looking back at the three agents he once tried to sell out.

"Alright maggots, listen up!" Sam shouted as he fired on the Agates. "Not one of these fuckers gets in the house. Understood, we go the way of Ganga: with guns firing! Now are you with me?"

"Yes sir!" Jamie shouted as he fired his rifle at an Agate. "It's been a privilege to serve with you all, and Mavis, thanks for the pre-battle fuck."

"Hey, you deserve to die as a true man!" Mavis grunted as she fired her rifle, clipping an Agate which crashed into the side of the temple. "Now let's man up and ship 'em out. For Nanafua!"

As the three fired at the Agates, it is believed that they shouted a phrase at their assailants.

"DE SIDERUM FETUS URUNTQUE!"

[*]

As they shut the door behind them, Howlite quickly grabbed a small table and propped it against the door. As they approached the warp pad, Howlite pulled out the warp whistle and blew into it. As she did, the warp pad came to life.

"Everyone go now!" Sadie shouted as she gestured to the warp pad. "Don't worry, it won't hurt you."

One by one, the residents were quickly escorted into the warp pad, followed by Oversser. Eventually, there was only Lars, Sadie and Howlite.

"Where did you send them?" Howlite asked Sadie. She then looked back to the hallway to the heart chamber, which was lacking a certain bloody Gem.

"They should go to an island that Lars and I went to a long time ago." Sadie explained to the cracked Gem.

"Good." Howlite replied as she looked to the warp pad. "After I take you over there, I'll go to the old Tribunal Temple. I believe that some refugees from a Gem Colony are residing there. With any luck, that "Furem" and the Gems that Monster is looking for will be there."

"Alright, now to arm this bomb and get the hell out of here." Lars said as he approached the warp pad with the bomb in his hands. "With all due respect though, I only wish that I took one of those rifles though, they're kinda cool."

Just then, Lars felt a droplet hit his face, as he wiped it off his face, he looked at his hand and saw a grey smear on his hand.

"What the…?" Lars said before he heard a light thud from behind him, followed by a sharp pain in his back as a blade shot through it. This brought the attention to Howlite and Sadie, who turned to see Lars with a one-armed Zirconia behind him.

"You see what you have brought upon yourselves?" Zirconia said with a hysterical tone. "Now you all will die here!"

"No…" Lars muttered with a cough. "…It'll just be the both of us!"

Lars then charged back and pinned Zirconia to the wall next to the warp pad, shifting his weight to hold the weakened Gem back.

"What are you doing?" Zirconia shouted as she tried to break free. "Is this supposed to stop me?"

"No…" Lars strained as he looked to Sadie. "…but this will."

Sadie and Howlite watched as Lars then gripped the bomb in his hand and placed his hand around the knob in the center, twisting it three times.

"LARS!" Sadie shouted as she charged at the Gem, only for Howlite to stop her. "LARS NO! PLEASE!"

"Sadie, I'm sorry for everything, and…." Lars said as he looked to the worried girl before her.

"…I love you…"

"Lars…no..." Sadie said as Howlite began to pull her into the warp pad. As soon as they were in, the two quickly vanished. Leaving Lars and Zirconia alone with the bomb.

"You can't possibly think this will change anything?" Zirconia growled as she struggled to break free, he remaining arm pinned by Lar's back and the wall. "Your race is doomed, this changes nothing!"

"Well then…" Lars said with a smile as he grabbed the knob to the bomb. "Perhaps you need to see us in a much more…"productive area."

And with that, Lars pulled the knob out of the bomb, watching as the fire salt and Gem fluid mix into a purple liquid. In that instant, the bomb turned white and it turned warm in his hands, exploding into a blinding light. As Lars felt his body turn numb and hear the scream from the Gem behind him, he felt the world around him turn dark.

In that instant, the last sight he saw was the face of Sadie, knowing that she would be safe from Diamond. In the end he won and with that, he felt peace.

"Farewell Player 2…" Lars thought to himself as the world around him faded. "…Player 1 signing out."

[*]


	6. The Commander

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: HikumiRin

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 6: Master and Commander

Author's note: This chapter takes place during Chapter 5 of "A Girl and Her Lion", through Chapter 10.

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp, Resident District Ruins, present day.**

[*]

A portal opened at the door to the temple as Diamond stepped out of it, followed by Pearl and then Onyx. Diamond turned his attention to Beach City and saw the encampment before him. The camp had been destroyed, parts of Agates were scattered everywhere, it was apparent that there was a large battle here. As Onyx looked in shock, she turned to her master and saw his eyes fill with rage. She knew that Zirconia, the Gem assigned to watch Beach City, would be punished severely.

Diamond looked towards the entrance of the house and saw the parts of Agates that were scattered around the entrance. He then saw the corpses of three humans, noticing the rifles that were beside them. As he approached one, he bent down and examined his body, he recognized him as Sam, one of the G.E.R.M agents that he had confronted along with Nanafua. He then saw Jamie's body slumped on the stairway and Mavis's, which was bent over the deck fence. Diamond then stood up and turned to his servants.

"Vestibulum" Diamond said as he turned to Pearl, "Go and gather the Agates, then patrol the city for anything suspicious."

Pearl nodded as she sprung towards the city. Diamond then turned and began to walk up to the entrance of the temple, stopping as he approached the door.

"Onychinos, to me." He said as Onyx followed behind, Concerned as to what had happened.

"Father, what happened, where is everyone?" Onyx asked the Gemian before her.

Diamond then stopped in his tracks and quickly turned to his servant. As he did, Onyx felt the pain of a large fist backhanding her to the ground. As Onyx sat up, she looked to the towering Gem above her and felt a jolt of fear course through her body.

"You will address me as Master." Diamond hissed to Onyx, "If you call me otherwise, I will rip out your tongue and shove it down your throat! Now stand up!"

Onyx quickly stood up and began to follow her master; her mind was filled with confusion as to what had just happened. It seemed like only yesterday that he allowed her to call him father, and now he does not.

Diamond then turned back to the door and tried to open it. As he felt the door refuse to move, he gritted his teeth as he ripped the door off its hinges and toss it behind him. Diamond and Onyx heard a splash of the door falling into the ocean as Diamond saw the large table before him, which was used to prop the door shut.

"How could they have let this happen?" Diamond said as he shoved the table away. "They are Gems, no, Secundos! Gems created from the essence of Topaz and myself, and they were bested by humans."

"Well…to be fair Master, they had those G.E.R.M agents." Onyx repled, trying not to upset her Master. "But at least they are dead."

Diamond turned to Onyx and grabbed her hair, pulling her towards him.

"Yet they let the humans escape." Diamond hissed at Onyx, watching as the Obsidian rolled down her cheeks. At this sight, Diamond began to punch Onyx in the stomach, emphasizing his point with each hit.

*Bam*

"THEY…"

*Bam*

"WERE…"

*Bam*

"NOT…"

*Bam*

"SUPPOSED…"

*Bam*

"TO…"

*Bam*

"ESCAPE!"

Diamond then threw Onyx across the room. The Black Gem tumbled onto the floor before she vomited black bile onto the floor. As she stood back up, she saw Diamond standing over what remained of the warp pad, which was now broken into pieces and covered with soot. Diamond bent down and touched the damaged warp pad with his fingers, standing back up and examining the soot on his hand.

"They used fire salts…" Diamond said as he wiped his hand on his robe. "They used the salts as a makeshift bomb."

He then turned and saw something besides the damaged warp pad, in a small pile of rubble was a young human, his skin was burnt and his hair was singed, as he bent down to him, he looked into his glazed over eyes. He examined the cuts and dirt on his skin, knowing that he was left behind to detonate the bomb.

"I gave you the choice to save either the life of your love or the life of your people…" Diamond said as he closed the human's eyes. "…and you chose to save both of them, you gave yourself for them. Just as I did…"

"Master…?" Onyx asked as she approached Diamond. "Is everything all right?"

Diamond paused for a moment before he stood up and faced Onyx.

"Zirconia…" Diamond growled as he stormed into the knocked down Gem door and into the Crystal Heart chamber.

**Crystal Temple Catacombs, burning room, present day  
**

Diamond and Onyx walked the long halls of the temple until they reached the burning room. It was a large room with a pit of lava in the center. In front of that pit was Zirconia, muttering to herself as she was throwing paper into the pit. Both Gems could also see that Zirconia was missing an arm.

"…and if Master finds out, he will punish me, but what would he know, all he does is make us do his dirty work. Now thanks to that crazy Gem and those idiots, everything is fucked up. When I get my hands on those fucking inbred freaks, I'll-"

"I would think that would be the least of your concerns Zirconia" Diamond said bitterly as Zirconia spun around in shock at her Master's voice. There both Onyx and Diamond could see a large burn on the side of Zirconia's face and body. However, Diamond took no note of the wounds as he stormed forward and grabbed his servant by the throat and lifted her into the air.

"Master!" Zirconia gasped as she tried to break free, "Have mercy!"

"Mercy is an illusion that is granted to the less expendable, and it is only believed in by cowards and failures." Diamond growled as she brought Zirconia to his face. "Now, you will explain to me how a group mere humans we able to escape an army of Agates and three Secundos?"

Zirconia gasped as she looked to the floor, Diamond turned towards the floor as well and saw a piece of paper on the floor next to him. He then proceeded to throw Zirconia into the wall and then reach down to pick up the paper. On the paper was a crude drawing involving a Gem with black and grey hair killing Master Diamond with a large ax. Diamond furrowed his brow before reading the note on it.

"I'm gonna get you." –Howl

Diamond stood back up and examined the note before crumpling it up and throwing it in the lava pit. He then turned back to Zirconia and approached her.

"Why did you not inform me about Howlite's escape?" Diamond said as he towered over her.

"I…I did not think she would be that much of a threat until she attacked me." Zirconia said in defense, "I though Sunstone and Moonstone could handle it. It's there faults, not mine!"

Onyx watched as Diamond once again lifted his servant into the air. In a sense of pity for her sister and granddaughter, she tried to intervene.

"Master, what I-"

"SILENCE!" Diamond shouted, the whole temple shook from his voice, who had never seen her master so angry before, "If I want to hear your opinion, then I will beat it out of you!"

Onyx shuttered at the sound of Diamond's voice, his very voice echoed through her whole body. She knew that this time, there was no second chance for the Gem in his hands, she knew that this punishment would be the last.

"I have realized that I am the one at fault for this." Diamond said to his servants, "I have allowed myself to be corrupted by pointless ideals and become too lenient. Because of this, not only has Topaz escaped with the Furem, now Zirconia and the Secundo of Topaz have shown that a mere handful of primates could easily defeat us…"

Diamond then turned to Onyx, "As for you, I have allowed my own corruption fill you with a desire of love towards me. I realize now that the four of you have constantly failed as Secundos and as my servants, this means that the only remaining use you will have to me is to be sacrifices for Obsidian."

Onyx froze, remembering what had happened at the crash site, all the things Diamond said and did. The very though caused tears to fall from her eyes as she stared at her master with a look of disbelief.

"But…what you said…you said I was…you're…"

"Daughter?" Diamond hissed as he dropped Zirconia to the ground before walking up to his black-haired servant, "I remember what I said, and yet, I care not. Let me remind you Onychinos, that you are an extension of Obsidian and myself for the purpose of following my orders! Your purpose is to do what I say, when I say it, without question, objection, or remorse, which you have done one too many times. You were created as a tool, and now you will die as one. I have carry no love for you then and now, nor will I ever!"

He then turned his attention back to Zirconia and forced her up against the wall. "Nor do I carry mercy. For too long, I have allowed your failures to proceed without true consequence. Many times you have failed to obtain the Furem's Vitae. That, among this, is unacceptable and I act upon my promise to you..."

Diamond then bent down to Zirconia so he could whisper his choice into her ear.

"Because you allowed the humans to escape, and hindered my plans tenfold, I must kill you."

Zirconia quickly broke down onto the floor in a mix of gibbering cries to pleas of mercy. Diamond simply looked down with an expression of malice.

"Get up." Diamond commanded his servant, who stood up without hesitation.

"Look at me." Diamond said as she proceeded to do so.

"Who am I?" Diamond asked as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

Zirconia looked at Diamond's hands before looking back to her master, her eyes poured with Obsidian tears.

"You are my master…" Zirconia said with a whimper.

"Are you afraid of me?" Diamond asked.

"Yes…" Zirconia replied with a nod.

"Are you prepared to die?" Diamond asked the Gem before him.

"No…" Zirconia choked, she could feel her body shake with fear.

"Why?" Diamond asked.

Zirconia hesitated before looking to her Master with a tearful smile.

"Because I don't want to die!"

"Now…you are learning." replied Diamond, jaw split open down the middle, opening up and revealing a set of tentacles, barbed sets of fangs and a large barbed tube-like tongue. He then plunged into Zirconia's neck. Onyx watched in horror as Diamond drained the Vitae from her screaming grandchild. As he finished he ripped himself loose from Zirconia's neck. As he did, a chuck of flesh from her neck was torn off with his tongue, causing the Gem to scream and choke as she held the gushing throat and dropped to the floor. As Zirconia tried to stop the bleeding, her attention was then drawn to Diamond, who retracted his jaw as he stood over her with his mace over his head.

All Zirconia was able to do was scream a loud "NO!" as Diamond brought his mace down upon her. With no hesitation or remorse, he did not stop for even a minute as he beat the Gem's head and body into the earth below. Zirconia's screams and gurgles mixed together as he broke her bones, smashed her body, and splattered her blood all over the floors and walls around them. Onyx could feel the vibrations of each impact with the mace through her body, the room, and perhaps, the entirety of the temple.

After what felt like hours of Diamond crushing the Gem below him, the Old King finally stopped, his robes and mace soaked with grey blood as he stood over the crater of mush that was once a Gem. He then reached into the pile of remains and removed a white gem from the pile. Diamond then drained the Vitae from it before casting it into the pit of lava. As Onyx watched the Gem melt in the pool, she was drawn back to Diamond, who was now standing before her.

"Now it is your turn." Diamond said blankly as he cast away his mace. Onyx backed away slightly before she tripped and fell onto the floor. She then felt as the ground locked around her ankles and heels. Immobilizing her as Diamond disrobed.

"Did you really think you had gained a place to my heart?" Diamond hissed as he stood above his prey. "No…I don't think so."

"Master, no-" Onyx's pleas were stopped by Diamond's hand clasping around her mouth. All she could do was make muffled scream as Diamond tore off her robes. She cried in pain as he stuck himself into her, his hand then found themselves around her neck, squeezing tighter with each thrust.

Onyx tried to break free, but it was no use. She could feel herself fading in and out of conscious as Diamond choked the life out of her.

"May this be a remind Onychinos that I am always in control…" Diamond exclaimed, as he slammed into her harder. "…and that your life was always in my grasp."

All Onyx could do was look into Master Diamond's molten red eyes before everything turn to darkness. Even though she could still feel him, she found the darkness safe.

For the first time in her life since she first breathed life, she felt safe…

[*]

**Rose's Hill, Topside, several hours later**

[*]

Diamond teleported onto the top of the Crystal Temple, crouching down as he looked to the wound in his chest. Several hours ago, the Gemian confronted his sister Rose, who informed him that his last servant, Pearl, was escaping with the help of Lion. He then pursued them and confronted the two just as they were at the border of the city. Diamond then attacked the two and was able to kill Lion. As he was prepared to kill Pearl, he was attacked by an unseen assailant, a tall figure wearing a pink helmet. Diamond immediately knew who the figure was, because several months ago, the Gem that the figure was protecting was killed by her. He was known as Steven Quartz Universe, a Secundo to Rose Quartz.

"The boy is alive!" Diamond gasped as he stood up and limped over to the tree. "How is that possible?"

As he composed himself, he turned to see the human military camp in the distance. He then noticed that the tents and buildings were in shambles. At this sight, he remembered two particular Gems that had not yet appeared to him.

"_Solislapide, Lunamlapideas, est mihi!_" Diamond said to himself as he turned around, and there standing before him were Sunstone and Moonstone, their clothing was tattered and their hair was matted. Upon realizing who was in front of them, the Gems quickly knelt before Diamond, especially Sunstone.

"Where were you?" Diamond asked as he approached them.

The two looked to each other as they stood up.

"Well…w-we had to take c-c-care of a couple humans in a milit-t-tary camp, then we went searching for the Humans and Agate."

"Agate?" Diamond asked as he leaned in towards them. "They have an Agate? How could you let them take an Agate?"

"_Magister non scire._" Moonstone replied. "_Autem nolite ergo solliciti esse dilige-_"

Diamond quickly grabbed Moonstone by the head with his hands. He then twisted his arms and wrenched her head around in a ninety degree twist. Moonstone spat white blood as she fell to the floor and proofed into a white gem. Sunstone gasped as Diamond approached him.

"Y-y-y-you ki-ki-ki…" Sunstone shuddered, unable to finish his sentence.

"Killed her." Diamond replied. "Yes I did, just as I did to Zirconia and Onychinos, and it will be what I will do to you. At this moment, Haematitem is more capable than all of you combined, which is why he will be replacing you."

"B-b-b-but what about P-p-p-peridot?" Sunstone replied as he backed away from the approaching Gemian. "She did nothing to help us, if you had her here, this would be avoided. So she needs to be punished too."

"Ah yes, the "Sexbot" as you called her." Diamond said as he placed a hand on Sunstone's shoulder. "I think I should let you in on a little secret..."

Diamond then clenched his hand as he quickly shot his other arm back and punched Sunstone in the head, smashing a hole into the Secundo's skull. He then pulled the dead Gem towards him and whispered into his ear.

"…that "sexbot" is more valuable to me than the entirety of this Universe, and in case you were wondering, berating her was as much a nail in your coffin as it was Iaspidis's.

Diamond then grabbed the Gem in Sunstone's shoulders and ripped them off, as he watched the corpse dissipate before him, he dropped the Gems alongside Moonstone's Gem. Diamond then sat down on the ground as an Agate approached him.

"What is the status of colony and out forces?" Diamond asked the Agate.

"[THE MAIN ARMY HAS BEEN REDUCED BY 43%...THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE KINDERGARTEN RESERVES THAT WERE ACTIVATED…THE MAIN ARMY WAS INCREASED BY 37% BEFORE THE HUMAN MILITARY DESTROYED THE LAST ONE IN EARTH SECTION 4439.]"

"How many Agates are ready to attack and how many are ready to join the defense fleet?" Diamond asked.

"[WITHOUT THE INTELLIGENCE…THIS UNIT FINDS A PROBABILITY OF VICTORY…23%...THE RECOMMENDED SOLUTION WOULD BE TO SEND 80 % OF THE EARTH RESERVE TO THE DEFENSE FLEET…WHICH WILL BE IMPROVED IF THE INSIDIAE FLEET IS USED.]"

"Do it then…" Diamond said as he stood up. "I also want a connection to the Insidiae network, I need to contact Peridot and inform her about the plan."

The Agate nodded as it flew away. Just then, Diamond felt the ground shake as a large black cloud entered the sky. Diamond watched as the cloud began to shrink as it reached higher and higher into the sky until it was no more. An Agate then appeared before the Old King, with a wailing stone in hand.

"[THE RESERVE HAS BEEN SENT MASTER DIAMOND…THIS UNIT WILL SEND A SIGNAL TO THE OTHER COLONIES TO DO AS YOU COMMANDED.]"

"Good" Diamond said as he approached the stone. "Now go to Haematitem and help him prepare the main army."

The Agate nodded as it placed the stone before Diamond and flew away. Diamond approached the stone and placed his hand on the top, pushing down as he looked into the hole in the center.

"Peridot…" Diamond said calmly. "Peridot, are you there?"

[*]

**Mask Island, several hours ago**

[*]

Sadie stood on the beachside, looking down at the grave before her, it was a simple grave, composed of a small cross made from sticks and hemp. As Sadie stood over the grave, reminded of Lars and his sacrifice, she felt her body weaken as tears began to form in her eyes.

"I'm sorry…" Sadie said as she gazed at the cross, studying the faults and imperfections in the cross. "I never wanted this…I never wanted you to…to…"

Sadie was interrupted when she felt a hand on her shoulder. As she turned around, she saw Jenny, Buck and Sour Cream beside her. Jenny gave a warm smile as she hugged the small woman, who broke down in tears as she embraced said hug.

"It's gonna be okay Sadie." Jenny said as she hugged tighter. "Lars is a hero, just like Jamie and Sam."

"I…I know…" Sadie sniffled as she broke from the hug. "I just can't believe he's gone. Just a month ago, we were running the Big Doughnut and now…he's gone."

"What Lars did for us…was alright." Buck said as he looked to the grave. "Never knew anyone who would put their life on the line like that.

Jenny cleared her throat loudly.

"Well…except Ganga." Buck continued embarrassingly. "…and Jamie…and Sam…and that one chick…and the other residents of Beach City that di-"

Sour Cream nudged Buck with his elbow, silencing the young man as Sour Cream approached the mourning Sadie.

"What we're trying to say is that Lars will be remembered as a hero…" Sour Cream added as he pated Sadie on the back. "…and once we come up with a plan to fight back, we will avenge Lars, Ronaldo, and everyone else, together!"

Sadie smiled lightly as she looked back to the grave. Reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small gem attacked to a small piece of hemp. It was once part of a necklace Lars made when he and Sadie were trapped on the island, as she traced the gem with her thumb, she smiled, hanging the gem on the wooden cross.

"See ya later Player One…" Sadie said as she wiped a fresh tear from her eye. "I…I love you too."

[*]

**Mask Island, Sadie's Camp, Present day**

[*]

As Sadie and the residents were sitting around a small campfire occasionally fueling it with fire salt, Smiley and Dewy were sleeping while Fryman and Sour Cream stood guard at the warp pad, armed with sharpened sticks.

"So Fryman…" Sour Cream said to the adult next to him. "…how are you holdin up man?"

"You know what, I'm feeling better." Fryman replied as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small locket. As he opened it, there was a small picture of Fryman, with his arms over a smiling Ronaldo and an awkwardly smiling Peedee. "I…I don't think I will be over what happened, but given what just happened, and that we were able to stick it to that Diamond guy, it makes me feel better knowing that things are starting to move in our favor."

"You're telling me." Sour Cream responded as he picked up a rock and threw it into a bush. "After what happened to Onion and my dad, seeing all those robots blow up made me wonder if the fucker that killed them in was among them."

"I wish I felt the same way." Fryman said as he put the locket back into his pocket. "But then…what happens after all this? What will I have to go back to?"

Sour Cream looked back to see Fryman wiping his eyes with his sleeve. He then approached the old man and patted him on the back. Fryman looked to the youngster before him.

"If it makes you feel better, I kinda wanted to learn how to make fry bits."

Fryman smile as he embraced Sour Cream with a hug. The teenager awkwardly patted the bawling man on the back. Just then, the warp pad began to glow, attracting the attention of the two men before it. Immediately, Sour Cream and Fryman broke off the hug and picked up their spears aiming them at the warp pad.

"Come and get some you crystal creep!" Fryman shouted. "I can't wait to hang your corpse on the water tower and let the crows peck your eyes out!"

Sour Cream looked to Fryman with a surprised expression. "Yeah…what he said."

As a figure began to appear in the warp pad, the two men braced themselves for a full on attack. It could be an Agate, or a Gem, or even the Master himself, all they knew was that once the bastard stepped foot on the island, it would be the last mistake they would ever make.

Finally, the figure took form, as she appeared in full on the warp pad, Sour Cream and Fryman lowered their weapons as their eyes widened and their mouths went agape.

"Excuse me…?" The figure asked the gaping men before her. "…But I am looking for the Humans that escaped Beach City, are you among them?"

"Sour Cream…?" Fryman said to Sour Cream, all the while facing the figure before him.

"Yeah…?" Sour Cream replied, all the while doing the same.

"Do you think Sadie should meet our guest?" Fryman asked Sour Cream.

"I think so." Sour Cream replied.

"Good answer." Fryman replied. "Now get to it!"

[*]

"AUGH!" Dewy screamed as Overseer bend him in his arms like a Ba'noodle. "I DID NOT THINK THIS THROUGH! OH GOD!"

"Overseer! Put him down!" Sadie said as she approached the Agate. "You're hurting him!"

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted at Sadie, all the while bending Dewy backwards until there was an audible crack. "[THIS UNIT HAS FINISHED ITS TASK.]"

Overseer then placed Dewy onto his feet and patted him on the head. Dewy looked to his feet and noticed that he was standing on them. As he clumsily moved one of them forward, stumbling a bit before he regain his posture, he looked at his hands, watching them dart forward to ensure balance.

"I can walk…" Dewey said as he felt tears in his eyes. "I CAN WALK!"

The small crowd of people cheered as Dewy tumbled into the sand, helped up by his son and given a tearful hug. He then approached Overseer and shook his large metal claw.

"Thank you so much friend." Dewey said to the Agate. "How can I ever repay you?"

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted at Dewy. "[THIS UNIT WOULD ALSO PREFER A POSITION OF LABOR IN THE DIVISION OF THE ECONOMICAL DISTRIBUTION OF RINGS OF FRIED WHEAT PASTE.]"

"You…want to work at the Big Doughnut?" Sadie asked Overseer.

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted at Sadie. "[AFFIRMATIVE…THIS UNIT WILL PROCEED TO CONTINUE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE ORGANIC KNOWN AS LARS…IT IS NECESSARY FOR THIS UNIT TO COMPENSATE FOR THE TERMINATION OF THE ORGANIC COLONY KNOWN AS BEACH CITY.]"

"Aw…that's…nice." Kiki said awkwardly. "I guess…?"

Just then, Overseer perked up and looked to the direction of the island warp pad.

"[ATTENTION…GEMIAN PRESENCE DETECTED…APPROACHING AREA ALONG WITH TWO OTHER ORGANICS…KNOWN AS FRYMAN AND SOUR CREAM.]"

"What?" Jenny Gasped in alarm. "You don't think that Fryman or Sour Cream are also aligned with Diamond guy, do you?"

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted at Jenny. "[NEGATIVE…THIS UNIT DOES NOT BELIEVE THAT THE ORGANICS ARE ALIGNED WITH MASTER DIAMOND.]"

"What makes you say that?" Sadie asked.

"[DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE!]" Overseer shouted at Sadie. "[THE GEMIAN THAT THIS UNIT IS DETECTING IS NOT MASTER DIAMOND.]"

"Wha…" Sadie said in confusion. "I believe that Sam informed me that Diamond is a Gem…ian, and there were only four of those super Gems. So unless you're processor are malfunctioning, can you pl-ease tell me who else could it be besides Diamond?"

"Perhaps it could be his sister?" said a voice.

As Sadie and the others looked to the source of the voice, she and the rest of the residence gasped at the sight before them. There was Fryman and Sour Cream. A look of excitement and worry was on their faces, for standing between them was a large woman. She had large flowing curly pink hair and was wearing a long white dress with a star cut out in the center, exposing a pink Gem. Sadie beamed up as she approached the Gemian before her.

"Y-y-you're…you're Steven's mother!" Sadie exclaimed with a grin. "You were in the video tape…you're Rose Quartz!"

"Yes I am…" Rose said with a light chuckle, which reminded Sadie of a similar laugh that came from a boy she knew a long time ago. "…and you must be Sadie?"

"Yeah…I'm Sadie…" the short-stacked girl replied nervously before a thought shot into her brain. "Wait a minute! How do you know my name, and what are you doing here, and how are you related to that Monster back at Beach City, and-"

"Hey! Slow down there…" Rose said as she approached the group of humans and sat down on a log. "Before we continue, do you mind if I do something first?"

"Yeah…sure." Sadie nodded.

"Thank you." Rose replied with a smile as she pulled out a small copper cylinder. As she placed it on the ground, she reached over to the fire and scooped out a large amount of burning fire salt. She then used the salt to sketch a outline of a man in the ground, she then placed the cylinder in the center of the outline and stood up.

"Please stand back everyone." Rose said to the residence. "This will be rather intense."

As the residence backed up, Rose turned her focus on the outline. Suddenly there was a large crackle of thunder as the Gemian's eyes turned white. As she pointed her hands towards the outline, the fire from the fire salt began to shift around the outline and into the cylinder. Eventually, the outline looked like a three dimensional man made of fire. As soon as this happened, Rose began to speak.

"_Sum Vicus Der Rose novissimis natus est de domo et momenta Leonis DITOROQU Gemia concessit debitum animae quem habebat vobis per iniuriam ademptum. Fratrem meum vita quae noctuque furto perierat tibi concedo et viventibus et in meritum. Ego praecipio tibi, Gregorius Universe, Kopar suscitant, apud redivivae praemia vitae et propositum ideo retexetur._"

In that instant, there was a flash of light, and as Sadie and the others adjusted their eyes, they saw in place of the flaming man was a portly balding man with a beard who was wearing a white shirt and short jeans. Suddenly, the man sprung up and covered his hands over his head.

"I gave you what you want! Just no more!"

After a few minutes, the man lowered his hands and looked around, he stopped as he saw Rose and a look of surprise grew on his face. He then lept into the air and embrace the Gem before him with a kiss.

"Hello Greg." Rose said as she broke the kiss with a smile. "It's been a while."

"Rose…" Greg aid with tears in his eyes. "You're alive! Or am I in heaven?"

"You're alive, I just revived you." Rose explained. "Like Gems, Metalians can be revived via your core, but unlike Gems, your resurrection had to be completed manually."

"Wait…but what about…STEVEN!" Greg shouted as he rose up and looked around in panic. "I gotta warn him. Pearl is planning to-"

"Greg…it's alright. It's been a while since then." Rose interjected as she grabbed Greg's hand. "He is alright, in fact, he and Connie are safe."

Oh thank God." Greg replied with a sigh of relief. "What about the kid?"

Rose looked down as she fidgeted with Greg's hand. She didn't need to explain to him what had happened.

"Where is he?" Greg asked as he looked into Rose's eyes. "You brother is behind this, we need to find him."

"I know where he is Greg." Rose replied. "And I know what I have to do, but first, we will need some back-up."

As she looked to Overseer, the Agate saluted the Gemian.

"Hello Agate, I believe that you have Gems from Diamond's factory?"

"[PLEASE DISREGARD THIS UNIT'S PRESENCE MASTER ROSE!]" Overseer politely shouted at Rose. [CORRECT…THIS UNIT HAS AN ABUNDANCE OF FIFTY-SEVEN GEMS…IN ADDITION…THIS UNIT ALSO DETECTS METALIAN HUMOR FLOWING IN THE ORGANIC KNOW AS GREG UNIVERSE…THIS UNIT FEELS A MIXED SENSE OF PRIDE AND SHAME.]"

"Wait?" Sadie said as she approached Greg and Rose. "You are an alien too?"

"Yep!" Greg said as he nodded his head and he then was covered in a strange copper colored armor. He then summoned a gun and fired it at a tree, leaving only a crater in its place. "And I still got it!"

"Now it is your turn Sadie." Rose said to the girl before her. "I will resurrect the Gems that you found, but I will also use several of them to convert you and your friends into _Acquisitae_ Gems. This will be temporary, but it will allow you to fight back against the Agates and be able to combat Gems if you have to. However, I will understand of you don't want to fight."

"But I want to!" Sadie objected to Rose, Jenny, Fryman, and Buck approaching the Gemian, along with Sour Cream, Kiki, Kofi, and the others. "We all want to fight back, for Lars and Ganga, for Peedee and Ronaldo, for Jamie, Sam, and Mavis, and especially for BEACH CITY!"

As the crowd of humans cheered before the Gemain, she smiled at them. For as corny as that speech was, it was heartwarming to know that the humans were willing to fight for what was right, much like how she did.

"Alright then…" Rose said as she stood up. "Overseer, please bring me the Gems."

Overseer handed Rose the bag of Gems.

"Thank you. Now let us begin…"

[*]

**The Crystal Temple, Heart Chamber (87% corruption), one hour later**

[*]

Diamond stood before the heart chamber, watching as a black bark-like growth began to grow on the heart, nearly engulfing it. As he approached it, Diamond felt his heat burn as he grabbed his head. He then saw as a large molten eye appeared on the growth before him. As soon as he saw it, he felt his body crouch before the eye. Diamond could feel black burning tears of Obsidian trickle down his face as he lifted his head to look to the abomination before him. For the reason for all his actions, all the pain and death in his wake, was staring down at him like a god to an ant. For this was the dark being Obsidian, otherwise known as the Obsidian Leviathan.

"_Wachita bwino kwambiri Daimondi monga uja, udaziwona umadzikondera wekha ndamutsimikizira anandiuza komabe mwatsopano._" Obsidian hissed to his slave. "_Udaziwona osati zokhazo zinandipeza ine munthu wangwiro malo kupita ku anthu kukhala, koma ndi iwe uli analola kuti ndi ine kuzika mizu m'kati mwa mumtima angawa accurs'd mlongo ndikamuwutse, Diaspore!_"

"I have done what you asked." Diamond said with a strained tone. "My Secundos and Topaz's are ready to be sacrificed for you, and then you will be restored to full power."

"_Amene chikanakhala kokha ngati munthu iwe uli acquir'd ndi mbiri yamoyo ndi kwako abale ake, iwe uli daw!_" Obsidian hissed loudly, Diamond then felt a sharp pain in his mind as he fell back onto his hands and knees. "_Ndi mbiri yamoyo ndi kuchokera kwa chamtengo wapatali chimene ana awo kukanangowonjezera kukonzanso mumpangidwe wathupi, ndipo ngakhale pamene ili ine ndikanakhala kukhalabe ali osatetezeka kukhala ndi abale anu._"

"Forgive me…M-master." Diamond said as he tried to rise again. "I…I will obtain the vitae from the…Furem and…and my siblings. I swear…I swear this to you. My army is ready to fend off their forces, as well as stall Tiberium's army."

"_Sachita kuti anthu azititchula kuti mundawo adzakhumudwa Daimondi monga uja._" Obsidian hissed to his slave, forcing the Old King's head up to look into his eye. "_Sindidamsokeretse wot zokhudza wanu dram "galu kapena mphaka" udzasauka akukonza chiwembu choti asachotsedwe kuchokera pa ine sachita amaiwala pakapita ndine ndani Daimondi monga uja, chimene Munalandira zaufulu mwa Koma ngati mkaziyo tsopano ndiye zonse m'mphepete mwa cha zimenezi m'chilengedwe chonse, Sindidamsokeretse wokweredwa zidzaipeza, ndiponso kukumbukira chiyani chimene muyenera iwe uli amalephera ananditsimikizira kuti kusamvera kwa ine kachiwiri ndidzachiritsidwa pofuna kuonetsetsa kuti anthu anaona masomphenya mwa iye chimene Sindidamsokeretse osemedwa wanu imfa yake chisoticho adzakwaniritsidwadi. Ndinali ndikukhulupirira kuti ine ndekha momveka bwino pamodzi ndi maulendo anaumiriza iwe uli akufuna kugwiririra ndiponso wozunzikirapo wapatali. Chimene iwe wachita kukhala Vestibulum, Onychinos, Zirconia, ndi Rose khwatsi, ndiponso anango onsene udaziwona linathyoka ndipo chovunditsidwa adzakhala ndi n'kosanunkha kanthu poyerekezera ndi ku chimene iwe uli adzakhala ndi numakula kukhala Peridot muyenera iwe uli amalephera ndi ine._"

Diamond looked into Obsidian's eye, glaring into the Leviathan's gaze with eyes that shed both Obsidian tears and his own. Obsidian growled as he released Diamond, who gasped on the floor. As he stood up, he looked to Obsidian with a mixed look of desperation, fear, and hatred.

"I will do as you command." Diamond replied.

"_Inu mukadzitengere numakula pamene iwe uli hest ... chiyani?_" Obsidian asked, his eye gave the impression of expectation.

"…I…I will do as you command…" Diamond hesitated before he looked to Obsidian once more. "… my Master."

"_Kulibwino._" Obsidian growled. "_Kuwalandira pomwepo kutuluka mu zanga pamaso pake. Ndidzakuyitana pamwamba pa iwe uli pamene Ndinali ndine kuyandikira kwambiri kwa chokwanira._"

"As you desire Master." Diamond nodded as he left the chamber. A feeling of guilt and shame built within him regarding what was about to transpire.

[*]

**Beach City Containment Camp, Makeshift Gem Camp, present day**

[*]

It did not take long for Rose and Greg to set up camp within the old residential district buildings. As Rose looked to the temple and sighed, Greg approached his wife and grabbed her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Greg asked Rose. "I haven't seen you like this since after you…well…you know…"

"He's my brother Greg." Rose replied to Greg. "When I talked to him, I could see his pain, he is trying to fight it. I don't know if I can save him."

I'm still questioning about why rather than what." Greg responded as he planted a light cannon on the ground. "No offence, but your brother did a lot of terrible things. I mean, look what he did to our son, and our grandchildren, not to mention that one of his servants was your most trusted ally. I mean, I know he is your brother, but there's a limit to how far a guy can fall, and this guy's fallen way to deep."

Rose turned to him and smiled.

"Even the darkest of rooms can be brightened Greg." Rose said as she began to walk to the temple. "My brother has not fallen, he is lost, and I will not rest until he finds his way home."

"Rose!" Greg shouted as he set down a crate of supplies. "Where are you going?"

"Bring the others through." Rose shouted. "I need to make sure of something."

Greg watched as Rose dashed away towards the temple. As he walked towards a placed warp pad, he looked back with a concerned look.

"You can brighten up all the rooms in the world Rose." Greg said to himself. "But some of those rooms will always have their shadows."

[*]

**Rose's Hill, Topside, present day**

[*]

Rose appeared to the topside of the hill to see Diamond sitting below the large cherry tree. Rose remembered this tree, the one she planted eons ago to impress Diamond. As she approached it, she noticed the scar around the trunk. She then saw Diamond sitting below the tree with a wailing stone before him, his eyes were shut and it was apparent that he was deep in though. Rose made a large grin as she stood before her brother and sat down in his lap. Immediately, Diamond opened his eyes to see Rose sitting on his lap.

"Is this your idea of a declaration of war?" Diamond said with a sigh. "Because if it is, then we both know the outcome then."

"Who said this was about war?" Rose said as she turned around to face her brother. "You always looked at everything with a cold feeling of apathy after the war. What happened to the old Diamond, the one who protected me when I was nearly eaten by Nephrolith?"

"He is no longer the brother you knew Rose." Diamond said as he looked away. "He died the moment that he broke the oath he made for his people…and when he became the very thing he wanted to destroy, and yet…he cannot rid himself of the guilt and love that poisons him so."

"That is why you've wanted me to hate you…to rid yourself of your guilt towards me…" Rose said to Diamond. "You still feel for your people, yet you cannot stop your crusade. Why are you doing all of this if you don't want to?"

Diamond paused for a minute before he looked to Rose with an intense glare. At that moment, he shoved rose off him and quickly moved away from her. Rose recomposed herself and stood up as well.

"This is for the well-being of the Universe." Diamond explained to Rose. "I am tasked with protecting it. But without Obsidian….I…I won't…I won't save it…"

"Save it?" Rose asked Diamond. "Save it from what?"

Diamond looked to Rose with a gaze of fear. Never has Rose seen such panic in the eyes within the Old King. But she then realized what he was referring to, and the realization caused her face turn pale.

"Tiberium is coming…" Rose said to him.

"But with Obsidian, I can save the _Universum_." Diamond explained erratically, black tears flowing from his eyes. "I will stop the _tumultu_ from destroying this _M'chilengedwe chonse_ again. I am the protector Rose! I have to do this! It has to be done!"

"IT HAS TO BE DONE!" Diamond screamed at Rose.

"_HABET FACIENDUM!_" Diamond screamed in Gemian, his mouth began to trickle black bile.

"_ICHO ALI NAWA KUTI CHICHITIDWE!_" Diamond screamed in a tongue unknown to Rose, he shook violently as his eyes became black shot. Rose could see that his Gem had become dull and was beginning to change color.

Rose stepped back as Diamond fell to his knees before him. As he looked to Rose, he saw tears forming in her eyes. Rose placed a hand over her mouth as she watched Diamond bend over and vomit black bile onto the ground, the black fluid burned the ground below him. As he looked up to Rose, she saw a resemblance to another Gem who was poisoned by Obsidian, who was forced to do things that were unspeakable, and who was forced to kill those whom she loved. It was clear now that Diamond was being controlled by Obsidian. She then approached the Gemian and sat before him.

"_Paulatim sororis..._" Diamond whispered to Rose, his eyes black shot and his face scarred from the tears of Obsidian. "_Obsecro me occide. Patiamini non possum habeo concessit._"

"I will not kill you Diamond." Rose said to him. "But I want to talk to him."

Diamond eyes widened as he tried to move away from Rose, who held him still.

"_NEMO! Der Rose non possis ipse occidat te! Obsecro eum in retardationis materiam et non finem vitae feceri!_"

"Shhhh" Rose said as she placed her forehead upon Diamond's. "_Adhuc esse Fratrem meum. Nam simul expletus, ex hoc saluus eris tenebrarum harum contra mundi me duce domum._"

As Rose closed her eyes, she felt the world around he grow dark and cold, and then there was silence.

[*]

_**Autem Somnum Exterreri Solebat**_**, time unknown**

[*]

Rose opened her eyes to see herself on a beach, it was cold and dark. As she looked around she saw that the sand was black in color and the water was red. As she crouched down, she realized that the water was in fact blood. As she looked beyond, she saw a man in the distance, he was pitch black in form. Rose then began to walk towards him, as she did she saw shades form around her. Every so often, a shade would latch onto her and she would fight it off, but as it latched to her, it screamed at her.

"No Master!"

"Please forgive me! No! I am sorry, please, not again!"

""HE DIDN'T JUST ABUSE ME AMETHYSTUS! HE DID THINGS TO ME!" "MASTER WAIT…STOP!" "I'LL BE GOOD! I WILL OBEY! I WILL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! I WILL BE YOUR LOYAL SERVANT! HAVE MERCY MASTER! PLEASE! NO MASTER!"

"He…he did things to me…it makes me sick!"

"_ANANCITES!_"

"NOOOO!"

"Master, no-"

"I…I am sorry master. I was trying to…to…"

"NO MASTER! STOP PLEASE!"

"I'M SORRY MASTER! I'M SORRY FOR MY ACTIONS! FORGIVE ME! FORGIVE ME! NO! NO! NO!"

"No...NO...PEEDEE!"

"NO!" "NO! NOT THAT! NO!"

The first shade screamed as it grabbed Rose only for the Gem to summon her shield and bashed it. As it faded, Rose was attacked from behind. Rose grabbed the shade from over her head and threw it before her, she then summoned her sword and stabbed in in the head. Another tried to grab her, but she bashed it away with her shield. The shade faded away while screaming at her.

Another shade screamed as it emerged from the ground and grabbed Rose's legs. As she kicked it off and stomped on it, another grabbed her from behind again and began to drag her into the sand. Rose sliced it arms off before cutting off its head. The final shade screamed and grabbed the Gemian before it was run through with Rose's sword.

As she finished the last shade and continued to walk towards the figure, she saw another shade appear before her. As she approached it grabbed her and began to scream, only this time, she could not shake it off.

"STOP IT! STOP DOING THIS TO ME! WHY WON'T YOU HATE ME? WHY CAN'T I HATE YOU! PLEASE! LET ME HATE YOU!"

Rose tried to push him off, only for the shade to lift her into the air.

"IT HAS TO BE DONE!"

"_HABET FACIENDUM!_"

"IT HAS TO BE DONE!"

Rose stopped as she heard the last sentence spoken by the shade, recognizing them as the words Diamond spoke before she started this, only she could understand them. As she looked to the figure, she saw the figure look back. Just then, the shade vanished, and Rose watched as the figure approached her, but as it did, she felt the air around her begin to get colder, she could see her breath and see the ocean of blood freeze into a floor or red ice. As he approached her, she disarmed herself.

"You are the King of the Old King." Rose said to the figure. "You are Obsidian the Leviathan."

"Ah! Rose Quartz, the Lion of Diaspore, and Diamond's sister. A pleasure to finally meet thou. " Obsidian said in a bellowing voice as he walked around the Gemian, stopping as he leaned into her face. "Doth thou fear me? Thou shouldst, I hast quite the reputation anon gramercy to the Corky King of Diaspore. I wilt say, he hath quite a few leashes, so easy to control and manipulate, like wet clay. "

Rose watched as he back away and summoned a small mirror. Inside, she could see a green Gem with triangle shaped hair and floating fingers, she recognized her as Peridot.

"What does she have to do with Diamond?" Rose asked the Leviathan.

"Everything, mine dram Lion." Obsidian replied. "If I wot diamond, and I doth, is that this dram bolt-bag hither is then only thing he loves in this entire Universe moo than thou, 'r the universe itself. "

She then watched as she saw Peridot getting beaten by a fist and a mace, both she recognized as Diamond's. She then saw as Diamond raped her and then he beat her head in and ripped it off.

"What did you do to him?" Rose said as she summoned her weapons. "How could you-"

"…break an unbreakable "God"?" Obsidian asked with a laugh. "Lion, thy brother is moo of a weakling than yea all those humans on Earth combin'd. all then times that he rap'd and tortur'd a Gem wast all because of me. I simply broke his spirit with this vision, and he was eating from the palm of mine hand. Thou doth hast to admit though that everything that hath betid, the Metalian war, the Gem civil war, the Homeworld wars, the Battles of Beach City and the invasions of Earth, wast all because of thy "innocent" brother. Thou can save him, but it won't stop the fact that everyone else will view him as the cockatrices, not me. Doth thou expect that to be a better option than killing him, well, supposedly killing him? either way, he will be living in a hell, either a living 'r dead one. "

"Yes I do." Rose replied as she started to walk away from him. "Because he made his mistakes and he can fix them, and just like him, you made your own."

"Oh hast i?" Obsidian said as he watched the Gemian leave. "Then prithee enlighten me. What was mine so call'd "big misprision"?"

"Letting me know that Diamond can be saved…" Rose closed her eyes and smiled. "…and that you can lose."

[*]

**Rose's Hill, Topside, present day**

[*]

Rose awoke to find Diamond gone, she stood up and sighed.

"I will save you Diamond…" Rose said as she looked back to the camp she and Greg made, she could see Sadie, Fryman, Greg and the others already preparing to attack. Rose then saw a group of Agates charge at the new Gems, who began to summon their weapons and attack the Gemdroids.

"But I will have to get some more back up before I do." Rose commented as she looked to the tree, noticing the grave marker underneath. "…and I know where "they" are."

With that, Rose summoned a portal and entered it, hoping to herself that whatever was on the other side was still on hers.

[*]

**Insidiae Colony, control room, several hours ago**

[*]

Peridot sat at the computer, maintaining several systems and calibrating the Agate army as best as she could. Just as she was going through another routine, she picked up a voice on the audio receiver.

"Peridot…" the voice said calmly, she recognized it as Diamonds. "Peridot, are you there?"

"Yes!" Peridot said as she connected the connection to the screen. She sighed with relief as she saw Diamond on the screen, however she noticed the stab wound in his chest. "Diamond, is everything all right? What happened?"

"There…there was an oversight." Diamond replied. "Onychinos and Zirconia are dead, Topaz's Secundo's are dead, and the Humans from the colony have escaped, along with blowing up the factory and stealing the reserve Gems."

"Diamond, I am sending the Agates to your position." Peridot replied as she linked into the network of the colony. "They should help improve your forces-"

"Peridot…" Diamond interrupted, his tone was mellow and calm. "Send them to the front lines."

Peridot stopped and looked up to Diamond. "Wh-what?"

"Peridot…please listen to me." Diamond said as he rubbed his face with his hand. "You have to engage the Kingsbane directive and send the army to fend of Tiberium."

"Diamond…" Peridot looked to the controls and then to Diamond. "What about you."

"Damn it Peridot, I…I have to use Obsidian to stop him. It's the only way, but I need time to compose it. You need to send the army to stall him. I already send the majority of my fleet, now you have to send yours."

Peridot hesitated and then nodded, she began to press several controls and then the room flashed red.

"[Insidiae Operation: Hyperion Storm engaged…Please enter compliance code now.]"

Peridot took a deep breath as she entered the code.

"[Compliance code accepted…Sending Agate reserve to target…Please stand by.]"

As Peridot entered the code, she felt the room begin to shake violently. Suddenly, Peridot heard an ear shattering roar, as if a billion jets just shot right over her. As the sound died down, Peridot looked back to Diamond on the screen.

"The Agates have been sent." Peridot said calmly. "They will reach Tiberium's fleet in several hours."

"Good." Diamond replied. "Now, engage the Kingsbane directive."

"Understood!" Peridot replied as she began to press several controls and the room flashed green.

"[Warning: kingsbane directive engaged…To continue with directive…Please enter the command code and pull the override lever.]"

Peridot entered the code and then a large switch emerged beside the computer. As Peridot placed her hand on the switch, she looked up to Diamond.

"Peridot, please. Engage the directive" Diamond pleaded. "We don't have much time."

"I…I know!" Peridot replied as she looked to the switch. She wanted to push it, but her mind refused to proceed. Peridot then felt her eyes begin to mist up.

"Peridot!" Diamond shouted. "What are you doing, active the protocol now! Please! Do it! Do it now? What are you waiting for?"

Peridot felt her hand shake and could hear the switch rattle slightly as he eyes filled up with tears. Finally the Gem let out a large shout as she slammed her head onto the keyboard of the computer.

"I CAN"T!" Peridot screamed at Diamond.

"Peridot…" Diamond said softly, realizing what was happening. "Peridot, I…I…I'm sorry for…but you have to-"

"I can't do it!" Peridot choked, she saw the tears flow from her eyes fall to the floor. "I don't want to…I don't want to Diamond."

"Peri-" Diamond said, only to be interrupted by Peridot as she glared at him from the screen. "It's going to be okay. Soon this will b-"

"You promised…" Peridot shouted through sobs as she slammed her fist on the dashboard. "You promised that after we won you would stop all this, that we would be able to live a life together. Don't you remember any of that? DON"T YOU?"

"I…I know that I did Peridot…" Diamond replied softly. "But if you don't act now, all of this will go to waste. You have to do it, it's the only way to stop Obsidian."

"I can't do it!" Peridot whimpered as she wiped her eyes. "I can't kill you."

"Peridot…Since our time together, since the day I gave you true life, you knew about the sacrifices I had to make to ensure the Universe was safe." Diamond explained to Peridot, who could see tears form in the Gemian's eyes. "But you know the only way to destroy Obsidian is to destroy it entirely, the Kingsbane directive will ensure that, but I will have to die along with it. You must understand that what I have done, the Agates, Insidiae's experiments, all of that, was to find a solution, and you must understand that you are the only…the only one who can do this."

"I do, but I can't." Peridot replied, her grip on the Kingsbane lever tightened. "I can't lose you again…not again."

"Peridot…" Diamond called out to the green Gem, who looked to see a crying God on the screen before her.

"_Faciam semper erunt."_

Peridot gasped as she heard him speak, recognizing it from long ago.

"_Faciam tandem aliquando malus. Faciam tandem aliquando esse feros. Possim tandem aliquando errat. Faciam tandem aliquando laedere._"

Peridot watched with a tearful gaze as Diamond stopped speaking and rubbed his hands over his eyes, wiping away tears.

"_Remitte mihi ut sitis numquam intellegam. Omnibus quaecumque feci numquid ipse praefinire non possum. Immutare non possum qualis fuerim, sed ex hoc iam homines erunt eligo quod non possumet ego in supplementum apud eos feceris omnia peccata mea._"

Diamond started to gasp as he looked away, Peridot could hear the Old King trying to recompose his weeping, which caused her heart to sink.

"_Quin potius animumcum complerentur dies venerit cum amotus fuero a deperdita adhuc respice ad mecummecum mecum et ferte praesidium quasi amantes inveniam petamus._"

As Diamond finished he wiped his eyes again and then smiled.

"You are, and always will be, my Universe."

As the screen began to frizzle up, Peridot gasped in surprise.

"I want you to end this and save this Universe." Diamond said.

"I can't…" Peridot shouted. "I can't because…Diamond…I…"

Before she finished, the screen suddenly turned off, Peridot watched in shock as she stared into a blank screen.

"…love…you."

Without thinking, she felt her arm pull down the kingsbane switch.

[Override lever engaged…Kingsbane directive engaged…Please evacuate from the colony immediately.]"

Peridot just sat at the table, staring into the black screen, she could see her reflection in the backness of the screen. She then sunk her head into her hands and wept for her lover. If Diamond was going to die, then she might as well go wi-

"[Errpr: Kingsbane Directive overridden…Shutting down directive…Error: Agate frequency changed…New destination: Earth]"

Peridot stopped crying and looked up slightly, as she overheard the sound of a ships landing, she heard a sound that shook her to the core.

"[Administration proxy: Approved…Welcome to Gem Colony Insidiae Commander Tiberium.]"

Peridot felt a jolt in her spine as she quietly sat up, only to see in the black screen above her, there was a tall figure standing right behind her. He had white hair, a blackish red gem in the center of his chest, and two red stripes on his arms. As Peridot jumped off the chair and spun around, the figure quickly round house kicked her into a wall.

"Commander, this is Rhyolite, the Hostile has been incapacitated, and it is now safe for you to enter.

As she was fading in and out of consciousness she could hear the figure talking with another person, he sounded cold but energetic.

"Rhyolite, did you have to be so hard on her?" The voice said to the figure. "You forget that she could be very valuable."

"Sorry Commander, by I had to ensure she was no threat to you." Rhyolite explained. "She was about to engage a directive known as Kingsbane."

"Kingsbane, that old thing?" the voice said with a chuckle. "I cannot believe Diamond actually got that up and running. I could have sworn it was done for after the war."

"Di…d…dia…" Peridot muttered as she felt a pair of hands positon her forward.

"Well I'll be, this is no ordinary Gem, looks like he made "you" into one of them." The voice said. Peridot then felt an ice cold hand grab her face and mover her head around. "…and I must say, he did good work. I just hope you still are still useful to me as you were back then, my little intelligence.

Peridot opened her eyes and jolted back at the sight before her. There was a tall man with green skin and a bald head. He was wearing a long jade colored coat with metal pauldrons. Beside him were the figure known as Rhyolite and several Agates. As Peridot stared into the man's eyes, she recognized him as perhaps the most dangerous threats to the Gemians, and perhaps the Universe.

"Everything all right…?" Commander Tiberium said to Peridot as he bent down to her with a sinister grin. "…you look like you just saw a ghost?"

TO BE CONTINUED…


End file.
